-■=i_  .     ,-iflf  -, V«fg 


PASTOR'S    LIBRARY, 


l^ii*!*5t     Eccletrsijxstictil    Soeietr^. 


3y). 


IS 


THIS  BOOK  BELONGED  TO  THE  LIBRARY  OF 
Rev.     JOEL     IIAAVES,     D.    D., 

For  49  Years  the  Pastor  of  this  Church. 

Ordained  3farch  4,  1818.  Died  June  4,  1867. 


..-T 


MAR    6    Kk^< 


^fe^^-:. 


!V'o. 


^r- 


MEDITATIONS. 


MEDITATIONS 


ON    THE 


LAST  DAYS   OF   CHRIST, 


CONSISTING    OF 


TEN    SERMONS, 


PREA^CIIED    AT 


CONSTANTINOPLE    AND    ODESSA. 


BY 

WILLIAM  G.   SCHAUFFLER, 

Missionary  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions. 


BOSTON: 
PUBLISHED    BY    WILLIAM    PEIRCE 

QCornhill. 

1837. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1837,  by 

WILLIAM  PEIRCE, 
in  the  Clerk's  ofSce  of  the  District  Court  of  Massachusetts* 


PREFACE. 


The  present  series  of  Meditations  is  presented  to  the  Christian 
reader  with  unfeigned  diffidence;  and  the  rather  so  because  the  spe- 
cific circumstance  which  led  to  its  publication  is  not  of  a  nature  to 
meet  the  public  eye.  That  these  unassuming  endeavors  share,  in  a 
more  than  common  degree,  the  imperfection  of  all  human  efforts,  I 
feel  deeply,  and  confess  freely;  but  I  hope  that  the  profitableness  and 
importance  of  the  subject,  and  the  comparative  scarcity  of  sermons 
upon  the  historical  parts  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  will  induce  some  to 
peruse  these  pages.  If  any  of  the  readers  should  find  but  half  the 
spiritual  profit  in  their  perusal  which  I  was  permitted  to  reap  from 
thoir  composition,  they  will  bless  the  Lord  with  me  for  the  precious 
portions  of  holy  writ  which  form  their  basis.  That  the  general  sub- 
ject of  these  Meditations  would  bear  to  be  enlarged  upon  with  grow- 
ing profit  and  delight  to  an  indefinite  extent,  all  will  readily  agree; 
but  I  durst  not  tax  the  reader's  indulgence  more  than  I  have  done. 
In  heaven  we  shall  dwell  upon  it  forever. 

But  one  may  ask  how  I  was  led  to  the  composition  of  discourses 
of  this  kind.  Partly,  I  was  weary  of  preaching  upon  abstract  sub- 
jects; and  partly,  Krummacher's  Elias,  a  series  of  sermons  upon  the 
history  of  Elijah,  had  awakened  in  me  a  new  relish  for  the  history  of 
the  Bible.     To  select  this  most  difficult  portion  of  Scripture  history 


VI  PREFACE. 

I  was  led  by  a  beautiful  ancient  German  hymn  upon  the  burial  of 
Christ,  by  the  pious  Paul  Gerhard. 

In  the  history  of  the  resurrection  T  am  much  indebted  to  I.  I.  Hess, 
whose  view  has  met  my  feelings  best,  though  it  has  by  no  means 
been  copied.  Krummacher's  "  Lehrstimmen,"  I  did  not  see  till  a 
considerable  time  after  these  meditations  were  finished.  I  have 
therefore  no  more  borrowed  from  him  than  he  from  me.  As  to 
form,  I  have  moved  unshackled  by  the  rules  of  pulpit  composition. 
I  hate  the  stiff,  undeviating  rules  of  all  the  rhetorical  schools  in  the 
world,  alike.  They  are  so  many  mummeries,  each  representing  the 
great  writer  or  speaker  of  some  period  or  other,  while  the  eloquence 
of  prophets  and  apostles  soars  with  undying  energies,  and  with  ever 
new  and  varying  beauties,  like  an  eagle  just  below  the  stars.  We 
ought  to  be  fvee  on  this  subject,  and  suffer  our  texts  and  subjects,  the 
character  of  our  audience,  and  our  prayerful  feelings  to  suggest  the 
form  of  our  messages  to  mind  So  did  the  prophets  and  apostles. 
The  circumstances  under  which  these  Meditations  were  written  and 
delivered  were  various;  now  wars  and  a  destructive  plague  sur- 
rounded us,  and  none  only  our  mission  families  and  a  few  pious  na- 
tives composed  the  audience.  Sometimes,  (as  in  the  Meditation 
entitled  "  Thomas's  Conversion,")  missionary  brethren  and  sisters 
destined  for  other  stations  were  present  on  their  passage  to  the  re- 
gions beyond  us.  A  few  times  large  audiences  were  assembled. 
Considerable  intervals,  occasioned  by  travelling  and  other  circum- 
stances, occurred  likewise.  This  may  account  for  some  particular 
allusions,  and  perhaps  for  some  defects,  too,  with  which  the  reader 
will  meet  in  these  pages. 

If  some  of  our  ministerial  brethren  in  America  should  be  led,  in 
their  public  ministrations,  to  direct  their  attention  more  to  the  histor- 
iciil  parts  of  the  Bible,  and  by  their  more  successful  efforts  should 
supersede  the  use  of  this  little  volume,  the  author  would  consider 
this  a  reward  for  his  feeble  attempt  beyond  his  boldest  expectations. 


PREFACE.  Va 

The  history,  too,  of  our  Bible  is  precious  above  gold,  and  much  fine 
gold  and  pearls  and  precious  stones. 

May  God,  whose  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness,  grant  his 
blessing  to  the  testimony  of  an  unworthy  servant,  and  take  all  the 
glory  to  himself  forever. 

W.  G.  SCHAUFFLER. 

Constantinople,  Jan.  14,  1836. 


MEDITATIONS. 


I. 


CHRIST'S  ENTRANCE   INTO  JERUSALEM. 


JOHN  XII,  12—19. 

On  the  next  day  much  people  that  were  coming  to  the  feast,  when  they  heard 
that  Jesus  was  coming  to  Jerusalem,  took  branches  of  palm  trees,  and  went  forth 
to  meet  him,  and  cried,  Hosanna:  Blessed  is  the  King  of  Israel  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.  And  Jesus,  when  he  had  found  a  young  ass,  sat  thereon  • 
as  it  is  written,  Fear  not,  Daughter  of  Zion :  behold,  thy  King  cometh  sittin" 
on  an  ass's  colt.  These  things  understood  not  his  disciples  at  the  first;  but  when 
Jesus  was  glorified,  then  remembered  they  that  these  things  were  written  of  him 
and  that  they  had  done  these  things  unto  him.  The  people  therefore  that  was 
with  him  when  he  called  Lazarus  out  of  his  grave,  and  raised  him  from  the  dead 
bear  record.  For  this  cause  the  people  also  met  him,  for  that  they  heard  that  he 
had  done  this  miracle.  The  Pharise<iS  tliereforo  said  among  themselves  Perceive 
ye  how  ye  prevail  nothing?  behold,  the  world  is  gone  after  him. 

Compare  Matthew  xxi,  1  —  llj  Mark  xi,  1  — 11;  Luke  xix,  29 44. 

With  the  leave  of  Divine  Providence,  I  have  pur- 
posed, partly  for  my  own  instruction  and  edification,  to 
deliver  a  course  of  sermons  upon  the  last  days  of  oivr 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  on  earth,  commencing  with  his 
solemn  entrance  into  Jerusalem,  as  it  is  set  forth  in 
2 


10  MEDITATIONS. 

the  portions  of  Scripture  which  I  have  chosen  for  the 
text  of  this  discourse.  Nor  will  this  be  done  without 
the  edification  of  those  who  may  hear  me,  provided 
divine  assistance  is  vouchsafed  to  me,  to  give  me  an 
insight  into  the  portions  of  holy  writ  which  I  may  be 
called  to  handle,  and  to  open  the  eyes  of  my  under- 
standing, that  I  may  see  "the  light  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  glory  of  God,  as  it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord." 

I  have  formed  this  purpose  for  my  instruction,  I  say; 
because  there  are  various  difficulties  of  different  kinds 
attending  this  part  of  the  history  of  Christ.     The&e 
I  shall  endeavor  to  clear  away  by  an  exhibition  of  the 
events  in  their  true  order  and  connection,  as  they  may 
appear  after  a  careful  examination  of  the   harmony  of 
the  four  evangelists,   and   by    such  other  observations 
as  may  tend  to  throw   light  upon   the  sacred  text.     I 
have  made   it  for  my  edification,   because   I   am  con- 
vinced   that,    unless    I    am    altogether    deserted  from 
above  —  which  may  God  in  mercy  avert!  —  such  scenes 
as  shall  come  before  me  cannot  be  contemplated  with- 
out serious  spiritual  enjoyment  and  advantage.     May 
it  please  Him,  with  whom  is  the  residue  of  the   Spirit, 
who  himself  is  the  living  fountain,  and   in  whose  light 
alone  we   can  see  light,  to    give  me   such   help,   such 
insight  and  enjoyment  in  this   my   undertaking,  as  will 
show  that  it  remains  still  true  what  his  servant  of  old 
said  of  Him  —  "  He  giveth  power  to  the  faint,  and  to 
them  that  have  no  might  he  increaseth  strength.     Even 
the  youth  shall  faint  and  be  weary,  and  the  young  men 
shall  utterly  fall;   but  they   that  wait   upon  the   Lord 
shall  renew  their  strength;   they  shall  mount   up  with 


Christ's  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  11 

wings  as  eagles;  they  shall  run,  and  not  be  weary; 
they  shall  walk,  and  not  faint."  Is.  xl. 

Such  is  the  interest  thrown  around  the  various 
scenes  in  the  field  of  contemplation  before  me,  that 
I  hardly  dare  cast  forward  my  looks,  lest  I  should 
faint  and  relinquish  my  task  as  incapable  even  of  the 
slightest  approximation;  lest,  forgetting  that  the  pow- 
er of  God  is  made  perfect  in  weakness,  I  should 
exclaim,  with  Peter,  **  Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a  sin- 
ful man,  O  Lord." 

There  it  lies,  the  whole  vast  picture  —  rich,  various, 
an  unique  combination  of  all  that  is  just,  good,  holy, 
heavenly,  divine,  on  the  one  hand;  and  all  that  is 
black,  disgusting,  and  diabolical,  on  the  other  —  the 
most  interesting  part  of  the  most  interesting  history  of 
our  globe  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time  —  the 
revealed  light  of  Heaven  mingling  in  contest  with  the 
smoke  of  the  bottomless  pit;  divine  love  and  forbear- 
ance and  infernal  hatred  and  outrage  in  close  encoun- 
ter—  Heaven  on  the  one  side,  hell  on  the  other,  and  a 
wicked,  perishing  world  in  the  centre,  — the  Lamb  of 
God  on  the  accursed  tree;  here  a  dying,  penitent 
sinner;  there  an  expiring,  cursing  wretch;  believers 
dispersing,  doubting,  denying,  swearing,  repenting, 
weeping,  recovering;  high  treason  committed,  and 
punished  with  unavailing  sorrows  and  everlasting 
burnings;  the  world  and  hell  in  a  shout  of  triumph, 
because  Heaven  is  defeated  and  its  hero  slain;  the 
everlasting  interests  of  a  world  at  stake  and  involved 
in  impenetrable  gloom  for  thirty-six  hours;  the  heav- 
ens darkened,  and  the  earth  convulsed  and  shook  out 
of  her  place;   and,  as  the  catastrophe  of  the  whole,  the 


12  JIEDITATIONS. 

armies  of  hell  routed,  the  main  power  of  Satan  broken^ 
a  divine  dispensation  closed  forever;  Christ  reigning 
victorious;  a  new  irrevocable  covenant  between  God 
and  repenting  sinners  established;  songs  of  triumph 
in  Heaven;  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  God  and 
of  his  Christ  commenced  upon  earth;  and  between 
these  leading  facts,  numerous  collateral  circumstances, 
but  even  these,  like  stars  of  minor  magnitude,  each 
still  a  world  by  itself; — this  is  the  sketch,  these  are  the 
elements  of  the  story  before  me,  upon  all  of  which 
to  touch  even  in  the  most  protracted  course  of  sermons, 
would  be  counting  the  stars  —  an  awful,  fearful,  de- 
lightful view  ! 

But  I  must  not  indulge,  for  my  own  discouragement^ 
in  anticipations  like  these.  I  have  chosen  a  text  —  I 
owe  you  an  explanation  of  it,  and  it  shall  be  deferred 
no  longer.  It  was  not  without  hesitation  that  I  chose 
the  first  text  and  subject  of  my  contemplated  series 
of  discourses.  There  are  various  points  in  the  history 
of  our  Lord,  which  seemed  almost  to  have  equal  claims 
with  this.  After  all,  however,  my  text  struck  me  as 
being  especially  prominent,  because  it  is  the  first  pub- 
lic step  which  Christ  took,  to  show  his  character,  to 
meet  his  last  trials,  and  to  finish  the  work  which  his 
heavenly  Father  had  given  him  to  do  on  earth. 

We  shall  at  this  time  contemplate  more  particu- 
larly : 

1 .  Christ  setting  out  on  his  triumphant  entrance  into 
Jerusalem. 

2.  The  rejoicing  disciples. 

3.  The  willing  people. 

4.  The  gainsaying  Pharisees. 

5.  Jesus'  tears. 


Christ's  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  13 

I.  It  was  towards  the  close  of  our  Lord's  ministry 
on  earth,  that  the  exasperation  of  the  most  influential 
among  the  pharisees,  the  scribes,  and  the  elders  of 
the  Jews,  rose  to  such  a  height  as  to  render  Jerusalem 
no  longer  a  safe  abode  for  him.  The  resurrection  of 
Lazarus  from  the  grave  had  filled  the  measure  of  their 
rage,  and  satisfied  their  minds  that  nothing  short  of 
the  violent  death  of  their  formidable  adversary  could 
answer  their  purpose,  and  liberate  them  from  the  fear- 
ful apprehensions  with  which  his  growing  popularity 
began  to  fill  their  bosoms.  Down  with  him!  So  it 
echoed  from  mouth  to  mouth.  Down  with  the  Sabbath- 
breaker,  the  despiser  of  our  venerable,  sacred  tradi- 
tions, who  dares  to  oppose  council,  sanhedrim,  and 
high-priests,  and  to  foil  them  by  his  continual,  trouble- 
some appeals  "to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony." 
Down  with  him!  though  he  cleanse  all  the  lepers, 
heal  all  the  sick,  raise  all  the  dead,  comfort  all  the  af- 
flicted, feed  all  the  poor,  and  save  all  the  perishing 
souls  from  Dan  to  Beersheba.  Down  with  him!  for  it 
is  better  that  he  and  all  the  poor  and  sick  perish 
throughout  the  land,  than  that  our  synagogue  estab- 
lishment should  sufler,  our  craft  get  into  disrepute,  and 
our  income  cease. 

On  this  account,  when  Christ  returned  for  the  last 
time  to  Jerusalem,  his  hour  being  not  yet  come,  he 
stopped  for  some  time  at  Ephraim,  a  city,  or  rather  an 
obscure  town,  probably  but  a  few  miles  north-east  from 
Jerusalem,  on  the  borders  of  the  desert  of  Judah. 
(John  xi,  59.)  Six  days,  that  is,  as  chronologists 
would    have   it,   the   Sabbath   or  Saturday  before  the 

passover,  he  came  up  from  Ephraim  to  Bethany,  where 

0* 


14  MEDITATIONS. 

Lazarus  and  his  sister  lived,  to  attend  a  supper,  which 
seems  to  have  been  prepared  for  him  in  particular,  and 
where  Lazarus  was  one  of  the  guests,  Martha  served, 
and  Mary  anointed  Christ  with  precious  ointment 
while  he  was  reclining  at  the  table.  This  is  doubtless 
the  same  supper  with  that  of  which  we  read  in  Mat- 
thew xxvi,  and  Mark  xiv,  where  Simon  the  leper  is 
mentioned  as  the  host.  The  apparent  discrepancy 
between  John  and  the  two  evangelists  last  alluded  to, 
admits  of  such  an  easy  and  satisfactory  solution,  that  it 
is  astonishing  how  men  of  sense  could  ever  have 
thought  of  two  distinct  suppers  at  Bethany,  one  be- 
fore and  one  after  the  entrance  of  Christ  into  Jeru- 
salem; at  each  of  which  Christ  had  been  anointed  by 
a  woman;  at  each  of  which  his  disciples  had  rebuked 
the  person  urging  the  same  plea  for  the  poor  and  re- 
ceiving the  same  answer  from  Christ  —  other  obvious 
coincidences  not  to  mention.  That  Matthew  and  Mark 
mention  the  supper  after  the  entrance  of  Christ  into 
Jerusalem,  while  John  introduces  it  as  occupying  the 
day  before,  will  not  appear  strange,  if  we  consider 
that  Matthew  does  not  aim  at  chronological  order,  but 
relates  his  facts  upon  the  principle  of  some  moral  sym- 
metry which  he  has  in  view.  Mark  frequently  follows, 
the  same  method  from  the  same  consideration.  An  at- 
tentive reading  of  these  two  evangelists  will  satisfy 
any  one  on  the  subject.  All  the  objections  which  have 
been  urged  against  the  identity  of  these  two  suppers, 
are  too  trifling  almost  to  deserve  a  refutation.  One 
evangelist  says,  that  the  woman  anointed  the  feet  of 
Christ,  and  the  other,  that  she  anointed  his  head.  And 
the  easy  reply  is,  that  both  are  right,  that  neither  de- 


Christ's  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  15 

nies  what  the  other  asserts,  and  that  both  the  head  and 
the  feet  of  Christ  were  anointed.  Either  was  the 
practice  on  such  occasions,  as  we  may  safely  infer  from 
Luke  vii,  46.  There,  Christ  says  to  the  pharisee,  in 
whose  house  he  sat  down  to  meat,  and  where  also  he 
was  anointed  by  a  woman  of  unhappy  notoriety,*  "Mine 
head  with  oil  thou  didst  not  anoint,  but  this  woman  has 
anointed  my  feet  with  ointment."  And  as  this  and  the 
transposition  of  the  narrative  are  the  only  differences 
between  the  evangelists,  1  maintain  that  John,  Mat- 
thew, and  Mark  refer  to  the  same  supper,  in  which 
John  keeps  the  order  of  time,  and  after  having  related 
this  occurrence  in  its  proper  place,  he  goes  on  to  state, 
that  on  the  next  day  after  the  supper  in  Simon's  house, 
our  Lord  set  out  publicly  to  enter  the  royal  city. 

He  set  out  from  Bethany.  Matthew  makes  the  im- 
pression that  he  obtained  his  animal  from  Bethphage. 
These  two  places  were  both  situated  on  the  east  of  the 
mount  of  Olives,  north-east  from  Jerusalem;  and  they 
were  so  near  to  each  other,  that  Christ  may  have  sent 
to  Bethphage  after  having  set  out,  himself,  on  foot 
from  Bethany,  —  he,  perhaps,  passing  up  the  mount  of 
Olives  with  the  people,  while  some  of  his  disciples 
procured  the  animal.  This  latter  appears  to  have 
been  borrowed  from  a  couple  of  men  well  inclined 
towards  our  Lord;  for  otherwise  the  commission  of 
Christ,  as  well  as  the  owners'  readiness  to  comply,  as 
soon  as  they  heard  that  "  the  Lord  had  need"  of  the 
creature,  could  not  well  be  explained. 

The  ass  is  brought,   and  Christ  proceeds  up  the  as- 

■*  Not  Mary  Magdalene,  as  some  think  ;  her  name  is  unknown. 


16  MEDITATIONS. 

cent,  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  disciples,  and  a  large 
number  of  people  from  abroad,  who  were  come  to  the 
approaching  feast,  and  who  had  visited  Bethany  to  see 
Lazarus  after  his  miraculous  resurrection,  glorifying 
God  for  all  these  displays  of  his  power.  As  they,  ap- 
proach the  top  of  the  mountain,  the  prospect  widens; 
and  what  the  weakness  of  the  bodily  senses  cannot 
reach  or  discern,  the  charm  of  an  imagination  v»'ell 
acquainted  with  the  sacred  relics  of  the  holy  land, 
would,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  gather  within  the 
compass  of  their  horizon.  In  front,  there  lies  the 
*'  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  '*  crowned  with  the 
royal  city,  the  only,  exclusive,  earthly  dwelling-place 
of  the  Most  High.  On  the  west,  the  great  sea,  whose 
mighty  ships  are  one  day,  and  perhaps  soon,  to  bring 
back  the  dispersed  of  Israel  from  the  four  winds  of 
Heaven,  and  whose  remotest  islands  and  shores  are, 
ere  long,  to  stretch  out  their  hands  unto  Jehovah. 
Did  one  of  the  company  chance  to  look  back,  — there 
was  Jordan,  the  witness  of  divine  power  when  Israel 
passed  through  it  dry-shod,  to  take  possession  of  the 
promised  land,  —  and  the  Dead  Sea,  the  emblem  of 
God's  wrath  over  all  the  incorrigible  enemies  of  his 
word  and  work.  On  the  south,  there  lay  the  birth- 
place of  Him  "whose  goings  forth  are  from  old,  from 
everlasting;  "  and  dear  Hebron,  of  sacred  memory, 
was  also  near,  the  dwelling-place  of  Abraham  the 
father  of  the  faithful.  It  was  a  wonderful,  soul-inspir- 
ing panorama  of  sacred  places,  witnesses  of  divine 
revelations,  expositions,  mercies,  judgments,  and  won- 
ders past  numbering.  And  —  what  completed  the 
sacred  enthusiasm  of  the    pious    company  —  in    the 


CHRIST  S    ENTRANCE    INTO    JERUSALEM,  17 

midst  of  them  was  riding,  upon  an  ass-colt,  a  mysteri- 
ous n>an,  with  unassuming  plainness,  heaven  in  his 
countenance,  of  whose  love  and  miraculous  poWer 
the  land  was  ringing  again,  and  whose  every  step, 
word,  look,  and  turn  was  but  a  new  proof,  that  he 
moved  in  a  more  than  human  sphere.  What  wonder^ 
then,  if  their  feelings  were  enlarged,  their  hopes  raised 
high,  and  their  hearts  filled  witii  joy  to  overflowing. 
They  look  at  him  again.  Is  he  not  the  promised, 
peaceful  King  of  God's  people?  Yes,  it  is  he!  He  it 
is,  —  or  no  one  ever  comes!  They  tear  branches 
from  the  trees,  and  throw  them  into  the  way,  as  marks 
of  their  reverence  and  joy;  they  mind  not  their  gar- 
ments,—  they  spread  them  out  into  the  dust,  and  as 
he  rides  away  over  them,  they  burst  forth  into  a  song, 
Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David!  blessed  is  the  King  of 
Israel,  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord!  Hosanna 
in  the  highest — according  as  it  is  written,  ''Rejoice 
greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion;  shout,  O  daughter  of  Je- 
rusalem; behold!  thy  King  cometh  unto  thee;  he  is 
just,  and  having  salvation;  lowly,  and  riding  upon  an 
ass,  and  upon  a  colt,  the  foal  of  an  ass." 

II.  But  we  must  not  overlook  with  whom  the  joy  of 
our  happy  company  to-day  originated.  This  we  learn 
from  the  evangelist  Luke.  "And  when  he  was 
come  nigh,  even  now  at  the  descent  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  the  whole  multitude  of  the  discifles  began  to 
rejoice  and  praise  God  with  a  loud  voice  for  all  the 
mighty  works  that  they  had  seen."  This  main  object 
of  the  triumphal  march  is  now  obtained.  The  disciples 
are  now  all  convinced  and  sure  the  Messiah  is  among 
them.     And  (mark   this)   not  the  worldly  conqueror. 


18  Meditatio.Vs. 

bent  on  revenge  and  slaughter,  but  the  peaceful  Lord, 
the  deliverer  from  all  evil,  the  spiritual  and  everlast- 
ing King,  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  in  the 
usual  sense  of  the  term.  Their  hearts  overflow;  they 
can  refrain  no  longer;  their  feelings  want  utterance, 
and  they  burst  forth;  not  into  a  wild  cry  of  war  and 
bloodshed;  not  into  threatenings  and  imprecations 
against  their  enemies;  nor  into  flattering  encomiums  of 
their  new  king;  but  into  a  sacred  song  of  praise  and 
prayer,  in  which  angels  might  well  have  joined:  "  Ho- 
sanna  to  the  Son  of  David!  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord;  Hosanna  in  the  highest. 
Blessed  be  the  kingdom  of  our  father  David,  which 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord!  Peace  in  Heaven, 
and  glory  in  the  highest!"  That  their  frame  of  mind 
Vv'as  at  least  not  altogether  different  from  what  our 
Lord  wished  it  to  be,  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  He 
indulged  and  encouraged  them  himself.  On  other  sim- 
ilar occasions  he  had  withdrawn  and  hid  himself,  when 
the  people  endeavored  to  proclaim  him  Messiah,  be- 
cause then  their  minds  were  wholly  unprepared,  and 
their  motives  and  expectations  low  and  carnal.  JVo«', 
seeing  them  in  some  measure  prepared  to  enter  into 
his  views,  he  gives  them  occasion,  himself,  for  doing 
so,  by  the  most  forcible  allusion  possible  to  the  well- 
known  prophecy  in  Zachariah  ix. 

To  see  Christ  exalted  and  glorified  is  the  chief  de- 
light of  every  true  believer,  and  the  ultimate  object  of 
all  his  prayers  and  efforts.  To  see  him  forgotten, 
neglected,  and  despised,  mingles  wormwood  in  the  cup 
of  his  joy,  and  would  make  existence  itself  burden- 
some to  him  at  last.     But  Christ  is  glorified  and  hon- 


Christ's  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  19 

ored  in  the  highest  possible  degree,  when  he  can  enter 
as  the  prince  of  life  and  peace,  here  into  a  heart, 
there  into  a  family,  a  church  and  congregation,  a  city, 
or  a  land,  and  pour  his  rich  and  precious  blessings 
freely  over  them.  And  hence  his  true  friends  are  never 
happier  than  when  they  are  permitted  to  precede  and 
to  follow  him  in  his  march,  with  the  voice  of  rejoicing 
and  triumph;  when  they  see  the  people  "  willing  in  the 
day  of  his  power,"  flocking  to  him  "  as  clouds  and  as 
doves  to  their  windows."  They  delight  to  be  the 
helpers  of  the  young  convert's  first  love  and  first  joy. 
They  remember  the  time  when  they  themselves  were 
sitting  in  darkness;  when  the  awakened  conscience 
roared  terribly  in  their  guilty  souls;  when  they  wished 
to  pray,  but  had  no  heart  to  it;  when  they  wanted  to 
"  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,"  but  their  feet  seemed 
to  be  rivetted  to  the  ground;  when  they  wished  to  make 
themselves  better  by  good  works,  but  grew  worse  every 
minute;  when  the  heavens  above  them  were  as  black  as 
pitch,  and  as  impenetrable  as  brass;  when  they  longed 
to  turn  back  to  nought,  but  found  themselves  shut 
into  existence  by  everlasting  bars,  and  doomed  to  eter- 
nal consciousness  by  the  decree  of  him  who  changeth 
not,  though  Heaven  and  earth  pass  away;  when  they 
wanted  to  curse  the  day  of  their  birth,  but  feeling  the 
guilt  to  be  theirs,  durst  not  indulge  even  that  misera- 
ble gratification,  and  went  away,  broken-hearted,  into 
the  remotest  corner,  and  sat  down  and  wept  sore  and 
long.  But  while  they  are  weeping,  all  at  once,  be- 
hold! a  ray  of  light  breaks  through  the  darkness  of 
their  souls.  Hearken!  a  voice  comes  from  above, — 
and  O  the  blessed  message !     Rejoice  greatly,  O  daugh- 


20  MEDITATIONS. 

ter  of  Zion;  shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem;  behold, 
thy  King  cometh  unto  thee;  he  is  just  and  having  sal- 
vation. And  they,  shedding  tears  of  joy,  reply  — 
Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,  who  cometh  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  Hosanna  in  the  highest!  They  remem- 
ber all  this,  I  say,  and  they  know  that  it  is  the  appro- 
priate glory  of  Christ,  and  his  highest  desire  and  de- 
light, so  to  appear  to  perishing  sinners  when  all  else 
have  forsaken  them.  They  want  that  he  should  be 
filled  with  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satisfied.  Nor 
can  they  rest  easy  until  their  consciences  bear  them 
witness  that  they  are  doing  all  they  can  to  prepare  his 
way,  and  that  they  are  continually  praying  for  his 
coming. 

III.  The  disciples  have  no  sooner  tuned  their  voi- 
ces to  the  sacred  song,  than  the  people  join  them  —  a 
delightful  chorus.  They  cut  branches  from  the  sur- 
rounding trees,  and  spread  them  into  the  way;  they 
spare  not  their  very  garments.  A  foretaste  of  celestial 
joy  absorbs  every  other  thought  throughout  the  whole 
company.  This  is  the  regular  course  of  things. 
When  Christians  wake  up,  the  people  rejoice;  while 
Christians  slumber,  the  people  will  continue  in  the 
road  to  death.     Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  rare. 

It  is  delightful  to  sec  the  people  ivilling  in  the  day 
of  God's  power,  crowding  around  Christ.  But  there 
is  still  a  thought  which  not  unfrequently  casts  a  veil 
over  the  scene.  They  are  willing;  but  O  that  they 
were  determined  to  serve  Christ!  Not  your  ga^-ments 
he  wants,  but  your  hearts!  Not  your  willingness  to 
rejoice  in  his  light;  your  fixed,  immoveable  purpose  to 
be  his  forever.     This  is  what  he  wants,  and  what  alone 


CHlfelST^S    ENTRANCE    INTO    JERUSALEM.  21 

nvill  make  Christians  of  you,  and  save  you.  Nor  is 
the  distance  between  a  willingness  to  be  a  Christian 
and  a  determination  to  be  one,  trifling.  It  is  enor^ 
«ious!  Angels  cannot  tell  the  number  of  those  who 
perished,  with  all  the  ivillingness  in  the  world,  to  be 
saved,  —  simply  because  firmness  of  purpose  was 
wanting. 

I  will  do  no  wrong  to  our  willing  people  to-day.  I 
do  not  believe,  as  many  do,  that  this  body  of  men,  who 
are  now  singing  hosanna,  were  the  very  same  ones 
who,  a  few  days  after,  roared  out,  "  Crucify  him!  cru- 
cify him!  "  Ours  is  a  company  of  strangers,  who 
came  to  the  feast;  and  having  heard  of  Lazarus'  re- 
surrection from  the  grave,  went  out  to  see  him,  and 
rejoiced,  and  glorified  God.  They  are  well  disposed 
people;  and  being  strangers,  and  dispersed  in  the  large 
city  among  friends  and  acquaintances,  they  could 
hardly  have  received  information  of  what  was  going  on 
in  that  darkest  of  all  nights,  when  Christ  was  betrayed 
and  condemned  to  death.  And  the  first  word  which 
probably  most  of  them  heard  of  it  was,  that  the  young 
Rabbi  was  condemned  to  death,  and  just  hurrying  to 
the  place  of  execution.  But  the  clamorous  crowd  be- 
fore Pilate's  door  was  chiefly  from  the  mob  of  Jerusa- 
lem, well  known,  and  in  their  interests  wedded  to  the 
high  priests  and  Pharisees;  and  they  were  probabJy 
called  together  by  some  special  effort  of  these  ecclesi- 
astical dignitaries.  For  these  cautious  assassins  ex- 
pressly said,  "Not  on  the  feast-day,  lest  there  be  an 
uproar  among  the  people;"  and  they  pressed  on  all 
the  night  to  accomplish  their  purpose  with  the  most 
unheard-of  anxiety  and  vigor. 
3 


22  MEDITATIONS. 

Still,  there  were  doubtless  among  our  willing  people 
many  with  whom  the  divine  word  and  divine  joys  fell 
into  stony  ground,  and  having  not  root,  withered  in 
the  time  of  offence  and  persecution.  There  were  those 
whose  hearts  had  begun  to  be  overrun  with  the  thorns 
and  briers  of  worldly  cares  and  plans,  or  were  becom- 
ing hard,  like  the  broad  highway  of  honor,  wealth,  and 
pleasure,  "  which  leadeth  unto  death."  Now  they  re- 
joice and  are  nigh  to  the  kingdom  of  Heaven;  they 
are  willing.  But  many  of  them  wanting  depth,  single- 
ness of  purpose  and  determination,  they  soon  faint, 
and  give  it  all  up  again;  and  this  day  of  high  religious 
privilege,  instead  of  becoming  a  blessing  to  them,  will 
prove  a  curse  and  a  condemnation  forever.  Still,  some 
of  our  happy  company  to-day,  who  perhaps  never  be- 
fore had  sung  hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David,  are  doubt- 
less now  singing  his  nobler  praise  in  the  world  above. 
May  the  number  of  such  be  great!  And  may  we  learn 
of  them  the  value  of  an  unperverted,  plain  good  sense, 
and  of  openness  to  the  truth,  which  often  prepare  the 
way  of  Christ  in  our  hearts;  while  artificial  minds, 
thrown  out  of  balance  by  an  overstock  of  earthborn 
knowledge,  such  as  we  shall  meet  with  under  the  next 
head,  are  sure  to  meet  with  the  doom  of  reprobation. 

IV.  No  class  of  men,  it  seems,  followed  Christ 
more  perseveringly  in  his  ministrations,  than  the  Phar- 
isees. Where  he  is,  there  they  are  also.  Even 
here,  on  the  top  of  the  solitary  mount  of  Olives,  they 
are  present,  with  no  profit  or  pleasure,  either  to  them- 
selves, or  to  anybody  else.  Methinks  I  can  see  them 
standing  on  some  elevation  along  the  road,  to  see  the 
fanatical,    uninstructed   people    pass    by,    while    they 


CHRIST  S    ENTRANCE    INTO    JERUSALEM.  23 

wisely  shake  their  heads  at  their  extravagance.  They 
affect  to  despise  those  who  accompany  Christy  and  yet 
they  are  again  and  again  anxious  for  their  perishing 
cause,  and  say  to  one  another,  "Perceive  ye  how  ye 
prevail  nothing?  behold,  the  world  is  gone  after  him." 
And  when  they  hear  the  people  bursting  out  into  ho- 
sannas,  they  can  contain  themselves  no  longer,  but 
addressing  Christ  while  he  is  passing  by,  they  exclaim, 
''Master,  rebuke  thy  disciples;  "  to  which  Christ  re- 
plies, "I  tell  you  that  if  these  should  hold  their  peace, 
the  stones  would  immediately  cry  out!  " 

The  Pharisees  do  not  appear  here,  as  in  other  in- 
stances, in  the  character  of  self-righteous  men  in  par- 
ticular, for  this  besetting  sin  of  theirs  was  not  especi- 
ally called  into  exercise  in  the  present  instance.  They 
appear  to  me  to  act  simply  as  a  set  of  distant,  cold- 
hearted  men,  whose  deep-rooted  prejudices  did  not  per- 
mit them  to  sympathize  with  the  feelings  of  the  people 
who  surrounded  Christ.  The  Pharisees  were  a  studi 
ous  class  of  men,  who  had  enough  to  do  to  master  the 
enormous  mass  of  their  traditions,  some  of  which  are 
by  no  means  destitute  of  interest.  Their  heads  were 
well  stored  with  such  knowledge  as  their  age  afforded, 
and  their  hearts  enjoyed  a  degree  of  self-confidence 
far  outstripping  the  extent  of  their  mental  acquisi- 
tions, as  is  usually  the  case  with  learned  men  who 
are  destitute  of  true  religion.  They  had  everything, 
and  knew  everything;  and  were  quite  prepared  to  mas- 
ter all  the  world,  while  they  themselves  had  no  idea  of 
making  any  new  experience,  or  admitting  any  truth 
which  they  could  not  draw  from  their  own  fountain. 

There  is  an  unhappy   and   spoiled   class  of  studious 


24'  IVTEDITATIONS. 

and  cultivated  men,  called  literary,  who,  by  an  undue' 
and  disproportioned  cultivation  of  the  iritellect,  have  so^ 
far  killed  every  affection  of  the  heart,  as  to  be  unwil- 
ling, and  at  last  naturally  unable,  to  go  with  their  feel- 
ings one  inch  farther  than  the  most  common  relations 
of  life  would  necessarily  carry  a  man.  For  the  other 
world  and  its  realities  they  have  syllogisms  enough, 
but  no  affections.  In  speculating  on  these  things^ 
they  will  go  with  any  one  to  any  length  to  which  their 
powers  can  stretch,  and  they  will  be  delighted  with  the 
most  hair-splitting  and  unpractical  sophisms  on  the  sub- 
jects of  God,  eternity,  immortality,  personal  identity, 
moral  accountability,,  etc.  etc.  But  as  for  feeling,  they 
are  the  very  last  men.  Repentance.'*  Ah!  that  will 
do  for  vicious  people.  Faith.''  Oh  yes!  for  the  illiter- 
ate, who  are  groping  in  the  darkness  of  vulgar  igno- 
rance, faith  is  necessary  indeed,  and  a  very  excellent 
thing  to  keep  them  steady.  But  for  such  men  as  we!' 
Regeneration,  communion  with  God  and  heavenly 
things,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost!  Oh  intolera- 
ble mysticism!  And  what  makes  the  condemnation  of 
these  ruined  men  the  surer,  is  that  they  are  usually 
moral  people.  Close  habits  of  study  and  severe  appli- 
cation are  utterly  inconsistent  with  sensual  indulgences, 
and  in  all  common  case&  preclude  immoral  and  licen- 
tious habits.  Hence  they  are  fully  satisfied  that  they 
are  right,  and  every  idea  which  they  cannot  reach  with 
the  scale  and  dividers  of  their  philosophy,  is  folly; 
every  exercise  of  devotion  which  does  not  grow  in  the 
sandy  desert  of  their  own  experience,  is  fanaticism; 
and  every  religious  feeling  which  they  do  not  find  in 
the  ice4iouse  of  their  unfeeling  hearts,  is  nonsense  and 


Christ's  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  25 

extravagance.  They  have  built  up  for  themselves  a 
system;  and  because  that  system  is  harmonious  with 
itself,  they  most  vainly  and  unphilosophically  suppose 
that  it  must  needs  be  time  too;  and  thus  they  confidently 
venture  their  souls  and  all  eternity  upon  it.  But  it  is  one 
thing  for  a  theory  to  be  consistent,  and  quite  another 
thing  to  be  true.  And  if  it  should  turn  out  to  be  fact, 
that  their  theory  is  false,  and  that  of  the  Bible  true, 
(and  their  own  philosophy  recognizes  this  tremendous 
possibility)  they  are  undone  forever!  But  they  have 
no  idea  they  can  be  wrong.  In  times  of  religious  ex- 
citement, they  smile,  they  wonder,  and  gainsay,  and 
perish;  and  if  Christ  himself  were  present,  they  would 
have  no  hesitation  to  pass  their  sage  sentence  upon  his 
character,  superciliously  to  reprove  his  conduct,  and 
to  teach  him  how  to  wield  and  manage  the  helm  of  the 
church.  They  wish  for  no  teaching  from  above;  they 
shut  themselves  out  from  the  privilege  of  any  new 
spiritual  experiences,  and  make  themselves  voluntarily 
a  kind  of  intellectual  brute  beasts,  unfit  for  that  sanctu- 
ary above,  where  "Holiness  to  the  Lord  "  is  written 
upon  every  vessel,  and  where  nothing  but  the  absolute 
perfection  which  Christ  possesses  and  bestows  has 
currency  and  value. 

V.  "And  when  he  was  come  near,  he  beheld  the 
city  and  wept  over  it,  saying,  If  thou  hadst  known, 
even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day,  the  things  which  be- 
long unto  thy  peace!  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine 
eyes.  For  the  days  shall  come  upon  thee,  that  thine 
enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  about  thee,  and  compass 
thee  round  and  keep  thee  in  on  every  side,  and  shall 
lay  thee  even  with  the  ground,  and  thy  children  within 
3* 


^6  M^bltATlOJfS^. 

thee;  and  they  shall  not  leave  in  thee  one  ston6  tipoW 
another,  because  thou  knowest  not  the  time  of  thy  vis-^ 
itation." 

They  had  probably  passed  the  bi'ook  of  Cedron  by 
this  time,  and  began  to  ascend  towards  the  gate  next 
to  the  temple,  — to  which,  on  account  of  the  utter  con- 
fusion that  reigns  on  the  subject  of  the  order  in  which^ 
the  gates  of  ancient  Jerusalem  should  be  located,  I 
dare  assign  no  particular  name.  Nor  is  this  of  any 
consequence.  They  are  now  about  entering  the  city^ 
The  road  begins  to  be  crowded;  the  buzz  of  the  multi- 
tude, partly  natives  of  Jerusalem,  and  partly  stran-' 
gers  who  were  present  on  account  of  the  approaching 
feast,  all  thronging^  the  streets  and  the  gates,  now 
break  upon  the  ear.  What  could  be  more  apt  to  re- 
mind Christ  of  that  period  when  Jerusalem,  crowded^ 
to  overflowing,  would  become  the  theatre  of  wars,  in- 
testine aiid"  foreign,  civil  and  religious,  of  famine,  dis- 
ease, fire,  theft,  highway  robbery,  assassination,  can- 
nibalism, treason,  revenge,  despair  and  blasphemy, 
and  at  last  of  utter  destruction,  so  as  actually  to  admit 
of  no  parallel,  either  in  sacred  or  profanes  history. 
The  very  prepai'ation  of  the  people  for  a  holy  seasoUy 
the  cheerfulness  and  the  high  flow  of  spirits  they  in- 
dulged in,  must  have  deepened  the  gloom  of  the  dismal 
picture  presented  to  his  mind. 

He  looked  up  to  the  unhappy  city,  whose  last  ray  of 
glory  was  now  about  to  be  extinguished,  which  was 
herself  just  sealing  her  doom  by  neglecting  the  time 
of  her  last  visitation  of  mercy.  He  looked  up,  and' 
wept.  How  eminently  he  was  the  master  of  his  emo- 
tions and  his  tears,   and  how  sparing  with  the  latter. 


CHRIST  S    ENTRANCE    INTO    JERUSALEM,  2Y 

tve  have  more  proofs  than  we  need  in  his  history.  The 
sight  of  Gethsemane,  as  he  passed  it  a  few  minutes 
before,  drew  no  tear  from  his  eyes;  the  sight  of  Je- 
rusalem breaks  his  heart.  In  the  presence  of  a  gaz- 
ing multitude,  a  flood  of  tears  rolls  down  his  cheeks, 
and  out  of  the  abundance  of  his  tender  heart  his 
mouth  speaketh,  overflowing  with  sentiments  of  com- 
passion. The  sins  of  this  rebellious  and  untoward 
generation,  *'  stiffhecked  and  uncircumcised  in  hearts 
and  ears,"  though  they  reached  to  the  very  heavens, 
seemed  to  be  forgotten;  their  approaching  rwin  is  all 
he  can  now  realize.  They  are  ready  to  murder  himj 
but  oh!  how  can  his  heart  bear  to  dwell  on  his  own 
sufferings,  when  the  gathering  storm  of  hail,  mingled 
with  fire,  prepares  to  pour  upon  his  guilty  people.  Ah! 
to  suflJer  is  dreadful,  but  to  suffer  guilty,  infinitely 
guilty,  as  they  did,  is  to  have  a  foretaste  of  the  ter- 
rors of  the  reprobate  gouls  of  the  damned. 

When  I  think  of  the  moment  when  he  burst  out  into 
weeping,  his  eyes  uplifted,  suffused  with  tears,  tears 
rolling  down  his  countenance  unrestrained,  trickling 
down  upon  his  garments;  when  I  read  his  words  and 
think  of  the  thrill  of  his  faltering  voice,  of  the  work- 
ings of  his  heart,  and  the  heavings  of  his  breast;  and 
then  converge  all  the  other  circumstances  to  one  point 
to  form  a  perfect  image  of  that  love,  —  and  then  to 
draw  it,  — -my  pen  drops  from  my  hand,  — I  dare  not 
approach  the  task.  To  pull  off  my  shoes  on  this  holy 
ground  is  not  enough;  1  want  to  be  meditating  with 
my  face  pressed  down  into  the  deepest  dust. 

He  wept  over  the  woes  of  a  single  city;  and  do  you 
thiiik  that  he  never  wept  over  the  woes  of  a  world? 


^8'  M£©ITATI0NS^ 

He  wept  in  public,  where  he  would  certainly  restrain 
his  feelings  as  much  as  possible;  and  do  you  think  he 
never  wept  in  secret?  Could  we  lift  the  sacred  veil  of 
his  solitary  hours;  of  his  seasons  of  retirement,  while 
an  obscure  workman  of  Nazareth;  of  his  forty  days  of 
fasting  and  prayer  in  the  wilderness;  of  his  vigils  on 
tke  mountain-tops  and  in  the  deserts;  what  prayers, 
what  intercessions,  what  tears,  what  tender  and  heav- 
enly sympathies,  with  the  sorrows  and  woes  of  human- 
ity, would  come  to  light  f  His  affections  were  not 
limited  to  Judea;  he  did  not  love  those  merely  who 
loved  him.  He  wept  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  and 
over  the  distress  of  Martha  and  Mary ;  and  why  not 
over  the  great  congregation  of  the  dead  of  more  than 
a  hundred  and  thirty  generations  past,  and  over  all  the 
broken  hearts  of  widows  and  starving  orphans  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  ?  Why  not  over  the  dis- 
tress of  all  the  sick,  the  delirium  of  the  deranged,  the 
agonies  of  the  dying?  Do  you  now  see  why  he  went 
about  with  restless  assiduity  to  console,  to  comfort,  to 
bind  up  broken  hearts,  raising  the  dead,  curing  and 
cleansing  and  restoring  men  to  the  enjoyment  of  health, 
sight,  hearing,  and  reason?  How  could  he  do  other- 
wise with  a  heart  like  his?  He  would  have  done  so, 
though  no  man  had  believed  in  him  on  th^t  account,  or 
returned  to  him  a  grateful  word  or  look. 

But  if  he  wept  over  the  miseries  of  Jerusalem,  much 
more  must  he  have  mourned  over  their  impenitence. 
"  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy 
day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace!  "  In- 
deed, this  was  the  sole  cause  of  their  ultimate  ruin. 
He  says  expressly  that  all  these  horrors  would  aver- 


CHRIST ^S    ENTRANCE    INTO    JERUSALEM.  29^ 

take  them,  '"because  thou  knewest  not  the  time  of  thy 
visitation."  The  measure  of  their  guilt  was  fast  filling 
up;  the  disregarded  tears  and  entreaties  of  Christ  sealed 
their  doom;  and  from  the  time  of  his  death  to  the  sack- 
ing of  Jerusalem  and  the  dissolution  of  the  state,  they 
went  down  with  rapid  declination.  Like  a  rock  that 
has  long  been  projecting  on  some  lofty  mountain  top, 
but  now  rolls  down  through  the  wild  forest  and  over 
opposing  hills,  fences,  and  dwellings,  every  obstacle 
adding  strength  to  its  restless  precipitation,  until  it  has 
reached  the  bottom  of  the  unvisited  gulf,  or  the  deep 
sea  below,  leaving  nothing  behind  save  the  forcible 
illustration  of  that  swift  destruction  which  overtakes 
"wickedness  in  high  places." 

Have  you  never  seen  the  starving  wretch,  who  with 
unusual  skill,  information,  and  enterprise  sails  through 
seas,  and  roams,  like  the  evil  spirit  in  Job,  up  and 
down  in  the  earth,  attempting  everything,  and  whose 
whole  life  is  but  one  unbroken  chain  of  failures,  until, 
shivering  with  cold  and  half  naked,  he  begs  at  tho 
door  of  the  ignorant  but  godly  farmer,  whom  formerly 
he  would  have  disdained  to  have  set  with  the  dogs  of 
his  flock?  Who  is  he.''  "Lo,  this  is  the  man,"  says 
David,  "that  made  not  God  his  strength."  In  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  a  secret  curse  will  be  cleaving  to  his 
fugitive  heels;  the  tears  of  a  pious  mother,  or  a  de- 
serted godly  wife  are  burning  upon  his  soul;  the  dying 
groans  of  seduced,  unwary  youths,  of  ruined  inno- 
cence, and  the  sighs  and  sorrows  of  decrepit,  starving, 
degraded  parents  give  him  no  rest, — the  curse  of 
God  has  become  his  inseparable  shadow,  and  the  very 
atmosphere    in   which   he    lives    and   moves.      Every 


30  MEDITATIONS. 

cheerful  sunbeam  seems  to  disclose  his  hidden  crimes, 
every  growling  thunder  to  utter  the  sentence  of  his 
deed  of  darkness.  But  with  all  this,  he  may  repent, 
return,  and  live,  if  he  has  never  heard  the  voice  of 
Christ;  if  he  never  knew  him;  and  he  is  unspeakably 
happier  than  that  undone,  forlorn  soul,  who  neglected 
the  day  of  heavenly  visitation,  upon  whom  the  tears  of 
a  despised  Saviour  rest  with  insufferable  weight,  and 
who,  reprobate,  and  given  over  like  Judas,  "  chooses 
strangling  rather  than  life,"  and  the  reality  of  eternal 
ruin,  rather  than  its  dreadful  anticipation.  Oh!  it  is 
terrible  to  fall  into  the  hand  of  the  living  God!  Search 
us,  O  God,  and  know  our  hearts;  try  us  and  know  our 
thoughts;  and  see  if  there  be  any  evil  way  in  us;  and 
lead  us  into  the  way  which  is  everlasting. 

"  And  when  Jesus  was  come  into  Jerusalem,  all  the 
city  was  moved,  saying,  Who  is  this  ?  And  the  multitude 
said.  This  is  Jesus,  the  prophet,  of  Nazareth  of  Gali- 
lee." "  And  Jesus  entered  into  the  temple:  and  when 
he  had  looked  round  about  upon  all  things,  and  now 
the  even-tide  was  come,  he  went  out  unto  Bethany 
with  the  twelve." 

Here  finishes  the  account  of  our  Lord's  entrance 
into  Jerusalem.  May  God  grant  his  blessing  upon  this 
imperfect  meditation,  and  may  Jesus  enter  into  the 
heart  of  each  one  of  us!     Amen. 


^' 


MEDITATIONS. 


II. 


« FATHER,  GLORIFY  THY  NAME.' 


JOHN  XII,  20—32. 

And  there  were  certain  Greeks  among  them  that  came  up  to  worship  at  tlie 
feast:  The  same  came  therefore  to  Philip,  which  was  of  Bethsaida  of  Galilee, 
and  desired  him,  saying,  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus.  Philip  cometh,  and  telleth 
Andrew;  and  again  Andrew  and  Philip  tell  Jesus.  And  Jesus  answered  them, 
saying,  The  hour  is  come,  that  the  Son  of  man  should  be  glorified.  Verily,  verily, 
I  say  unto  yon,  except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 
alone:  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit.  He  that  loveth  his  life  shall  lose 
it:  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep  it  unto  life  eternal.  If  any 
man  serve  me,  let  him  follow  me  3  and  where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant 
be:  if  any  man  serve  me,  him  will  my  Father  honor.  Now  is  ray  soul  troubled  j 
and  what  shall  I  say.''  Father,  save  me  from  this  hour:  but  for  this  cause  came  I 
onto  this  hour.  F&ther,  glorify  thy  name.  Then  came  there  a  voice  from  Heaven^ 
saying,  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again.  The  people  therefore  that 
stood  by,  and  heard  it,  said  that  it  thundered:  others  said,  an  angel  spake  to  him. 
Jesus  answered  and  said,  This  voice  came  not  because  of  me,  but  for  your  sakes. 
Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world;  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out. 
And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me. 

The  fact  that  the  Evangelist  St.  John  introduced  the 
occurrence  related  in  our  text,  immediately  after  the 
entrance  of  Christ  into  Jerusalem,  seems  to  indicate 
that  it  happened  very  soon  after  it,  — probably  the  day 


:SS  MEDITATlONiS. 

following.  Th«  scene  of  our  text  was,  in  my  opinion, 
the  temple  itself,  where  our  Lord  seems  to  have  spent 
most  of  the  time  during  the  last  week  of  his  earthly 
career.  According  to  St.  Luke  "He  taught  the  peo- 
ple in  the  temple  and  preached  the  Gospel"  in  'Hhose 
days."  *'The  blind  and  the  lame  came  to  him  into 
the  temple  and  he  healed  them,"  says  Matthew;  and 
^*the  chief  priests  and  scribes  saw  the  wonderful  things 
that  he  did,  and  the  children  crying  in  the  temple  and 
saying,  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David!"  A  very  con- 
siderable number  of  parables,  of  controversial  dia- 
logues, and  of  hortatory  addresses,  all  delivered  in  the 
temple,  fell  within  these  few  laborious  days  of  our 
Lord's  life;  and  were  we  to  treat  upon  them  all  sepa- 
rately, our  series  of  discourses  would  necessarily  be 
extended  to  a  most  immoderate  length.  But  having 
purposed  to  confine  ourselves  to  what  our  Lord  did., 
and  suffered  in  those  days,  we  shall  not  be  chargeable 
with  inconsistency,  if  we  leave  the  explanation  and 
application  of  what  He  said  to  others,  or  defer  it  to 
some  future  season. 

The  event  in  our  text  falls  perhaps  most  properly 
into  the  sphere  of  our  meditations,  although  it  does 
consist  in  a  great  degree  of  sentiments  uttered  by  our 
Lord,  and  not  of  deeds  or  sufferings.  I  am,  however, 
so  much  the  more  unwilling  to  bring  it  under  a  category, 
which  would  throw  it  out  of  our  contemplated  series 
of  discourses;  as  the  sentiments  which  it  brought  to 
light  are  of  the  most  unrivalled  beauty  and  importance, 
and  the  whole  occurrence  in  the  highest  degree  profit- 
«,ble  and  practical. 


If ATHER,   GLORIFY  THY  NAMll.  33 

1  shall  not,  as  I  am  in  the  habit  of  doing,  divide  the 
present  discourse  into  several  heads,  for  fear  the 
spirituality  of  my  text  might  suffer  through  the  confine- 
ment of  rule  and  form.  We  shall  pass  over  the  t«xt  as 
it  is,  and  stop  at  such  places  as  afford  pecAiliar  scope 
for  meditation. 

It  was  then  during  one  of  those  interesting  seasons, 
while  Christ  was  teaching  the  people  in  the  temple, 
and  preaching  the  Gospel,  the  people  listening  with 
«ndivided  attention  to  his  gracious  words,  the  high 
priests  and  scribes  standing  aloof,  pale  with  anxiety 
and  indignation,  and  the  children  singing  hosanna;  it 
was  during  one  of  those  few  unequalled  days,  when  the 
Saviour  stood  in  the  temple  amid  the  poor,  the  blind, 
the  deaf,  the  maimed,  the  halt,  and  the  wretched  of 
every  description,  healing,  comforting,  pouring  health 
and  life  and  joy  around,  though  his  own  heart  was 
groaning  secretly  with  gloomier  forebodings  than  man 
can  conceive;  it  was  during  one  of  those  scenes  of 
mingled  and  obsorbing  interest,  that  certain  Greeks, 
among  them  that  came  up  to  worship  at  the  feast, 
*'  came  to  Philip  which  was  of  Bethsaida  of  Galilee,  and 
desired  him,  saying,  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus."  They 
accosted  Philip,  either  because  he  happened  to  be  most 
accessible  to  them  in  the  crowd,  or  most  likely  because, 
he  being  a  Galilean  Jew,  they  felt  more  boldness 
towards  him,  if  indeed  they  were  not  previously  ac- 
quainted with  him.  They  address  this  common  Jew 
respectfully,  "Sir,"  —  and  express  their  modest  desire 
to  "see  Jesus"  with  truly  beautiful  and  winning  sim- 
plicity. 

"Sir,    we    would    see    Jesus!"     How    delightful' 
4 


34  MEDITATIONS. 

Should  not  one's  heart  leap  with  joy  at  such  a  request? 
What  Christian  would  not,  in  the  midst  of  a  thousand 
other  pr-essing  engagements,  pay  at  once  the  most 
cheerful  and  undivided  attention  to  such  lovely,  inter- 
esting inquirers?  "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus!"  Well 
done!  The  most  blessed  desire  that  ever  sprang  up  in 
a  mortal's  breast.  Oh!  if  we  could  but  hear  this 
question  addressed  to  us,  this  melancholy  place  with  all 
its  gathering  storms,  yea,  the  very  wilderness  of  eter- 
nal ice,  or  eternal  sand,  would  instantaneously  bud 
and  blossom  as  Carmel  and  as  Sharon.  You  would 
see  Jesus  ?  Good!  You  shall  see  him!  would  be  the 
joyful  echo  of  our  hearts;  and  as  Philip  run  fortliwith 
to  Andrew,  and  they  both  crowd  their  way  farther  on 
to  Jesus,  to  tell  him  of  it,  when  he  was  in  the  very  midst 
of  preaching  and  healing,  —  so  should  we  communicate 
the  glad  tidings  to  each  other.  This  man,  that  family, 
would  see  Jesus,  —  and  with  united  hearts  should  we 
bring  the  blessed  petition  to  the  throne  of  his  grace. 

But  ah!  a  long  and  melancholy  sigh  heaves  my 
bosom,  and  I  cannot  help  it.  Where  are  those  inquir- 
ers? where  are  they?  Who  would  see  Jesus?  I  must 
stop;  for  if  I  proceed  my  remarks  must  instantly 
become  personal.     We  turn  to  our  Greeks. 

It  is  delightful  to  observe  the  anxiety  with  which 
these  strangers  endeavor  to  seize  the  fleeting  hour  of 
peculiar  religious  privilege,  and  the  modesty  with 
which  they  request  a  minute  of  interrupted  intercourse 
with  the  despised  and  humble  Jesus.  What  shame  and 
puilt  does  not  their  conduct  reflect  upon  those,  who 
bear  the  honorable  name  of  Christians,  and  who  might 
enjoy  the   most  uninterrupted  and  jpeculiar  Jamiliarity 


FATHER,    GLORIFY    THY  NAME.  35 

with  the  exalted  and  glorijied  Jesus;  but  who  neglect 
nothing  so  much  and  so  ghidlj,  as  to  see  him  in  the 
closet,  or  to  meet  him  and  his  people  in  the  solemn 
assembly  of  his  house.  Yoic  would  rather  not  see 
Jesus,  ye  despisers  of  his  love.  You  want  no  inter- 
view with  him.  But,  depend  upon  it,  you  ivill  have  an 
interview  with  him  ere  long,  when  neither  business 
nor  pleasure,  neither  mountains  nor  rocks  will  hide  you 
from  his  heart-dissolving  looks;  when  neither  the  buzz 
and  laughter  of  a  crazy  world,  nor  the  sound  of  the 
viol  and  the  timbrel  in  your  feasts  will  drown  the  thun- 
der of  his  voice.  Then  you  will  see  him,  whether  you 
"would  "  or  not;  and  he  who  now  speaks  in  the  har- 
monious accents  of  dying  love  to  save  you,  will  utter 
the  sentence  of  your  endless  ruin  in  peals  of  thunder 
which  will  shake  the   frame-work  of  the  universe. 

According  to  the  best  critics,  these  Greeks  were 
Greeks  by  birth,  and  not  hellenistic  Jews,  as  some 
have  supposed.  They  were  aliens  from  the  common- 
wealth of  Israel.  They  came  from  far  to  worship  at 
Jerusalem,  and  humbly  to  seek  the  acquaintance  of 
Christ,  while  high  priest,  pharisees,  scribes,  and  other 
Jews  at  Jerusalem  were  standing  coldly  and  proudly 
at  a  distance;  yea,  while  they  were  in  the  very  act  of 
preparing  for  the  blackest  of  all  crimes  ever  committed 
under  the  sun;  and  while  Judas  was  standing  perhaps 
nearest  to  his  Lord  with  the  very  shame  of  hell  matur- 
ing in  his  breast. 

External  religious  privileges  are  an  earnest,  either 
of  uncommon  glory  and  exaltation  in  Heaven,  or  of 
uncommon  condemnation  and  suffering  in  hell.  Abra- 
ham saw  the  day  of  Christ,  and  rejoiced;  and  he  rejoices 


3G  MEDITATIONS, 

now,  and  his  joy  will  never  cease.  Balam  saw  the  (fay 
of  Christ,  and  with  an  aggravated  condemnation  he 
went  to  receive  the  reward  of  iniquity.  The  higher 
the  station,  the  deeper  the  fall.  Man  fell  —  into  the 
slough  of  sin;  Lucifer  fell  —  into  the  "bottomless  pit."' 
So  did  John,  Peter,  NicOdemus,  Nathaniel,  and  others 
see  Christ, — and  Annas  saw  him  too,  and  Caiaphas 
and  Herod,  and  Pilate,  and  Judas;  but  the  doom  of 
the  latter  ones  was  enhanced  by  the  privilege  they  had 
enjoyed,  more  than  human  calculation  can  express. 
Aud  what  then  was  true,  is  true  still!  Trust  brings 
with  it  responsibility,  and  when  betrayed  it  brings  guilt; 
and  many  a  savage,  who  knows  no  more  of  Christ  than 
what  he  may  have  retained  from  a  single  sermon  of 
some  passing  missionary,  may  get  a  place  in  the 
"temple  not  made  with  hands,"  while  thousands  from 
the  very  heart  of  Christendom,  with  tlieir  heads  full  o€ 
earth-born  wisdom,  and  their  hearts  full  of  folly,  with 
their  neglected  Bibles  in  their  left  and  with  "  a  lie  "  in 
their  "right  hand,"  will  go  down  to  the  mansions  of 
evergrowing  wickedness  and  pain,  whither  Hope  and 
Mercy  never  descend,  and  where  pale  Despair  and 
raging  Madness  have  fixed  forever  their  red-hot  thrones. 
The  modesty  and  anxiety  of  our  inquiring  Greeks 
would,  under  any  other  circumstances,  have  been  the 
most  favorable  introduction  to  our  Lord.  But  now  it 
was  too  late  —  for  private  interviews  at  least,  too  late. 
That  our  Lord  did  n4}t  admit  these  Greeks,  I  infer  from 
the  circumstance  that  no  mention  is  made  of  their  in- 
troduction to  him,  and  chiefly  from  verse  27,  which 
contains  such  sentiments  as  he  would  hardly  have  ad- 
dressed to  strangers.     Moreover^the  wkole  straia  of 


FATHER,   GLORIFY  THY  NAME,  37 

his  remarks  was  too  highly  spiritual  to  suit  the  compre- 
hension of  the  most  sincere  beginners  in  religion, — and 
such,  no  doubt,  our  strangers  were. 

The  time  of  familiar  intercourse  was  fast  passing 
away  with  our  Lord,  the  work  of  his  ministry  was  has- 
tening to  its  close,  to  give  room  to  his  still  higher  office 
of  mediation  between  God  and  man,  through  the  sacri- 
fice of  himself  in  behalf  of  a  fallen  world. 

As  Philip  and  Andrew,  therefore,  bring  the  request 
of  our  strangers  before  Jesus,  they  receive  substan- 
tially the  following  reply,  indirect  indeed,  but  equally 
profound  and  comprehensive  in  point  of  import.  I 
cannot  see  these  dear  men,  for  "  the  hour  is  come  that 
the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified."  My  hardest  and 
noblest  work  now  begins,  —  that  of  redeeming  love. 
I,  who  in  the  beginning  spake,  and  it  was;  at  the 
breath  of  whose  mouth  worlds,  immense  and  countless 
to  human  sense  and  reason,  started  on  their  enormous 
revolutions  with  a  rapidity  which  derides  every  stretch 
of  thought;  around  the  lowest  steps  of  whose  throne 
stars  and  suns  floated  like  the  small  "dust  of  the 
balance;"  for  the  performance  of  whose  sovereign 
pleasure  the  whole  multitude  of  angels,  powers,  princi- 
palities, andd  ominions  stood  in  humble  readiness,  each 
with  holy  emulation  craving  the  privilege  of  my  lowest 
service  ;  I  now  shall  serve,  sufl*er  and  die,  freely, 
compelled  by  nothing  save  my  own  choice,  my  own  love 
for  sinners.  As  in  power,  wisdom,  and  justice,  so  in 
love  I  must,  I  will  be  first  in  Heaven  and  on  earth.  I, 
clothed  in  human  flesh,  shall  suffer  the  punishment  due 
to  a  rebellious  world.     The   Son  of  Man,  the  Son  of 

God   will  be    glorified.     He    will    be  glorified  in    his 

4* 


5^  IttE  CITATIONS. 

sufferings  and  in  his  death,  which  will  show  his  lot^ 
supreme,  will  force  the  last  entrenchment  of  Satan,  and 
create,  not  a  material  and  finite  world  from  nothing,  but 
'A  SPIRITUAL  and  everlasting  creation  from  far  less 
than  nothing, —  from  an  enormous  minus  quantity  of  sin 
and  corruption.  The  Son  of  Man  shall  be  glorified 
after  his  death,  when  he  shall  resume,  dressed  in  human 
nature,  his  omnipotence,  and  rule  as  Creator,  Preserver 
and  Redeemer. 

'*  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be 
glorified  "  in  the  same  mysterious  way  of  previous 
death,  in  which  all  sublunary  things  pass  on  to  life  and 
being.  Here,  there  is  no  light  without  shade,  no 
victory  without  conflict,  no  rest  without  labor,  no  satis- 
faction without  want,  no  life  without  death.  When 
the  proud  rejoicing  lion  is  torn  to  pieces  and  rotten, 
then  meat  comes  forth  from  the  eater,  and  sweetness 
from  the  strong.  "Except  a.  corn  of  wheat  fall  into 
the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit,"  and  when  the  flesh  of  the 
just  is  mouldering  in  the  cold  grave,  then  his  redeemed 
and  sanctified  soul,  like  the  pure  white  lily  from  the 
moor,  rises  to  bloom  forever  in  the  paradise  of  God. 
Let,  therefore,  these  men  mark  the  following  great 
truth,  and  it  will  be  better  for  them  than  all  the  inter- 
views which  1  would  give  them  at  present.  "  He  that 
loveth  his  life  shall  lose  it:  and  he  that  hateth  his  life, 
shall  keep  it."  "And  if  (they  or)  any  (other)  man 
will  serve  me,  let  him  (and  them)  follow  me."  Then 
they  will  have  an  interview  with  me,  though  it  be  not 
now;  for  "where  I  am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be. 
If  any  man  will  serve  me,  him  will  my  Father  honor." 


FATHER,    GLORIFY    THY   NAME.  5^ 

"  Oh  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are  his  judg- 
ments and  his  ways  past  finding  out!"  Oh  the  folly 
and  madness  of  the  world,  who  hunt  after  greatness, 
preferment,  wealth,  and  pleasure,  in  the  sweat  of  their 
brow,  and  to  the  unavoidable  ruin  of  their  souls!  If 
the  words  of  Christ  be  true,  if  the  death  of  our  own 
lusts  and  desires  is  the  way  to  life,  then  they  hunt  for 
death,  they  hunt  for  eternal  shame,  poverty,  and  pain. 

Thus  far  the  reply  of  Christ  to  the  Greeks  of  our 
text;  and  what  important  practical  lesson  it  did  contain 
for  the  rest  of  the  people  about  him  then,  and  still  does 
contain  to  all  of  u^s  now,  is  too  plain  to  need  any  far- 
ther explanation. 

Another  scene  opens.  Christ  had  no  sooner  givers 
his  answer,  than  he  feels  his  mind  drawn  to  the  con- 
templation of  his  own  future  sufferings;  and  being  ac- 
customed ta  follow  those  inward  hints  which  he  knew 
to  be  from  above,  he  does  not  suppress  his  rising  emo- 
tions. The  Father  had  decreed  to  give  one  more  au- 
dible testimony  to  his  beloved  Son,  and  for  this  the  way 
was  now  to  be  paved.  It  may  be  his  eye  lighted  upon 
Judas,  or  upon  the  priests,  pharisees  and  scribes  in 
their  corner,  and  an  association  of  ideas  brought  in- 
stantly before  him  the  gathering  storm  of  his  approach- 
ing passion:  or,  the  admiring,  rejoicing  multitude  and 
the  children  singing  hosanna,  reminded  him  by  way 
of  contrast  of  the  contempt  and  hateful  spite  which 
would  but  too  soon  be  poured  upon  him,  and  of  the 
dreadful  "Crucify!  Crucify  him!"  which,  shouted  by 
a  ruthless  mob,  would  stun  his  hearing; — and  fear  and 
misgivings  natural  to  most   untarnished  humanity,  fill 


40  MfiDITATlONS. 

his  bosom.  His  feelings  demand  utterance,  and  he 
cannot  and  will  not  hide  them.  "Now  is  my  soul 
troubled."  The  devout  attention  of  this  multitude,  the 
songs  of  these  innocent  lambs  of  my  dear  flock,  and 
the  modest  and  interesting  request  of  those  godly 
strangers,  are  gratifying  to  me;  but  oh!  I  look  but  a 
step  before  me,  and  darkness,  darker  than  Egyptian 
night,  covers  my  path,  and  my  very  soul  melts  with  fear. 
Oh  that  that  dreadful  hour  were  past!  But,  what  shall 
I  say.''  Shall  I  plead  exemption  from  it?  Shall  I  wish 
to  enjoy  even  the  most  lawful  comfort,  when,  by  deny- 
ing it,  the  conquest  over  the  prince  of  this  world  may 
be  completed,  the  glory  of  my  Father  in  Heaven  pro- 
moted, and  this  perishing  world  saved?  Are  not  these 
very  sufferings  the  great  object  of  my  coming  in  the 
flesh?  Yes!  "  For  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour." 
Then  let  it  come  upon  me  ;  and  let  all  my  desires, 
and  wishes,  however  lawful  and  proper, —  let  all  my 
own  interests  (for  even  pure  human  nature  has  some) 
—  let  all  my  thoughts  and  feelings  be  lost  in  the  all- 
absorbing  petition,  "Father,  glorify  thy  namel" 

Thus  Christ.  Ye,  who  have  a  sense  for  things 
heavenly  and  divine,  behold  and  admire  the  workings 
of  a  holy  mind.  Behold  the  logic  of  Heaven,  and  the 
most  unexampled  illustration  of  the  moral  sentiment 
which  will  never  be  sufficiently  admired — "It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  Shall  we  again  con- 
sult our  own  interests?  Can  we,  while  this  model  of 
all  perfection  is  before  us  on  the  pages  of  sacred  his- 
tory? We  should  be  anything  but  Christians,  if  we 
could.  But  we  cannot  —  we  will  not.  In  all  our  ways 
and  works  we  will  confess  with  the  spirit  of  holiness 


FATHER,    GLOBIFY   THY    NAME.  41 

and  of  love  only.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  we  may 
appear  as  losing  our  lives, —  but  we  shall  find  them 
again  unto  life  eternal. 

The  great  object  of  our  Lord'^s  coming  was  the  ex- 
piatory sacrifice  necessary  for  the  redemption  of  sinners. 
"  For  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour."  By  this  the 
separating  wall  between  God  and  the  sinner  is  done 
away,  and  every  believer's  eternal  interests  secured. 
He  who  has  begun  the  work  of  our  redemption  foi-' 
us,  will  complete  it  also  in  us;  and  the  only  and  all- 
absorbing  task  of  our  lives  is  the  delightful  one  of  doing 
his  will,  and  glorifying  his  name,  out  of  gratitude  for 
our  soul's  salvation.  Doing  this,  we  shall  act  in  the 
spirit  and  from  the  principle  of  Jesus  in  the  elevated 
occurrence  of  our  text.  And  for  this  cause  he  has 
acted  as  it  were  publicly,  that  we  may  behold  him  and 
admire  and  imitate  his  example  .^  This  is  directly  en- 
joined upon  us  by  his  apostles.  "Let  this  mind  be  in. 
you  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus:  who,  being  in  the 
form  of  God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God:  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon 
himself  the  form  of  a  servant  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men,  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man, 
he  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient  unto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross."  "We  have  the  mind 
of  Christ"  exclaims  the  same  apostle.  Every  man 
whose  ruling  affiections,  whose  prayers  and  actions  do 
not  close  in  with  the  great  petition  of  Christ,  "Father, 
glorify  thy  name!"  is  no  Christian;  and  his  hope  will 
prove  a  spider's  web  in  the  day  when  God  shall  take 
away  his  soul.  This  is  the  great  dividing  line  between 
converted  and  unconverted  men.     No  man  can  seek 


42  MEDITATIONS. 

two  things  supremely.  He  that  seeks  himself  supremely 
is  an  unconverted  man,  and  he  that  seeks  the  glory  of 
God  supremely  is  a  converted  man.  It  is  clearer  than 
noonday;  who  can  deny  it.'' 

"Then  came  there  a  voice  from  Heaven,  saying,  I 
have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again.  The 
people  therefore  that  stood  by  and  heard  it,  said  that 
it  thundered  ;  others  said  an  angel  spake  to  him. 
Jesus  answered  and  said.  This  voice  came  not  because 
of  me,  but  for  your  sakes.'* 

Nothing  can  be  more  insipid  than  the  idle  conjecture 
of  some,  that  the  voice  spoken  of  in  our  text,  was 
thunder,  which  John,  taking  it  for  a  sign  of  God's  com- 
placency with  the  petition  of  our  Lord,  interpreted  as 
meaning,  I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it 
again.  A  refutation  in  form  would  be  too  gratuitous 
to  be  attempted  here.  I  merely  ask,  Did  God  never 
manifest  himself  in  a  sensible  manner.''  Shall  we  mock 
the  very  pages  of  the  soberest  history, —  not  to  say  of 
holy  writ.''  Was  there  a  thunder-storm  at  the  baptism 
of  Christ,  when  a  voice  was  heard  down  from  Heaven, 
saying,  "This  is  my  beloved  son .^"  Then  the  Holy 
Spirit,  coming  down  visibly  and  reinaining  on  Christ, 
was  a  flash  of  lightening, —  was  it.'*  Was  there  a 
thunder-storm  on  mount  Tabor,  when  Christ  had  that 
memorable  and  protracted  interview  with  Moses  and 
Elijah,  when  his  own  garments  and  countenance  were 
transformed,  and  shining,  and  when  the  testimony  "  this 
is  my  beloved  son"  was  repeated!  Was  there  a  thun- 
der-storm in  that  bush  on  mount  Horeb,  which  Moses 
saw  burning  yet  unconsumed,  from  which  he  heard 
words,  to  which  words  he  replied,  received  back  again 


FATHER,    GLORIFY    THY    NAME.  4S 

answers,  commands,  promises,  reproofs,  and  long 
enough  to  fill  up  the  whole  third  and  half  of  the  fourth 
chapter  of  Exodus?  Was  there  a  thunder-storm  on 
Sinai,  when,  under  the  most  magnificent  and  terrific 
display  of  the  divine  presence,  six  hundred  thousand 
men,  most  of  them  not  favorably  disposed,  heard  with 
their  own  ears  the  ten  commandments,  word  after  word, 
pouring  down  over  the  barren  rocks  like  an  ocean  of 
sounds,  and  rolling  in  lowering  billows  over  the  lonely 
desert,  with  majestic  and  fearful  reverberation,  until 
their  very  souls  were  melted,  and  their  strength  ex- 
hausted, and  they  compelled  to  exclaim.  Let  us  not 
hear  again  the  voice  of  Jehovah  our  God,  neither  let 
us  see  this  great  fire  any  more,  that  we  die  not?  Was 
there  a  thunder-storm  in  the  tabernacle  at  Shiloh,  when 
God  called  four  times  '  Samuel,  Samuel,'  and  after  the 
fourth  time,  when  Samuel  answered,  "  Speak,  Lord,  for 
thy  servant  heareth,  "communicated  to  him  minutely  the 
long  train  of  punishments  which  were  to  overtake  the 
house  of  Eli?  Believe  these  idle  conjectures  who  can. 
We  find  it  both  easier  and  more  reasonable  to  believe  the 
unexceptionable  testimony  of  Scripture.  If  the  doubts 
of  "unreasonable  and  wicked  men"  must  have  such 
power  of  demonstration,  we  deplore  their  condition,  and 
prefer  to  believe  "the  witness  of  God!"  But  there 
appear  to  be  men,  who  are  really  reprobate  to  the  faith 
and  who  cannot  believe  though  one  should  rise  from 
the  dead;  and  upon  whom  nothing  short  of  the  un- 
quenchable fire  will  fasten  conviction.  So  some  of  the 
people  in  our  text  say,  it  thundered,  it  is  no  matter; 
this  is  nothing  supernatural,  or  particular;  there  may 


44  MIlDITATION-S, 

be    a   thunder-storm   somewhere    in   the    atmosphere. 
Others,  more  candid,  said  an  angel  spake  to  him. 

Permit  me  a  few  remarks  on  the  general  subject  of 
God's  revelations  to  mankind.  If  it  is  of  any  conse- 
quence for  man  to  know  God,  it  may  be  expected  of 
him,  as  of  a  benevolent  and  omnipotent  Being,  that 
he  would  leave  nothing  untried  to  make  himself  known 
to  him,  and  that  he  would  pour  in  light  unto  men's 
minds  by  every  door  and  window,  cleft  and  opening, 
all  over  the  frame  of  their  sensitive,  intellectual,  and 
moral  nature, — only,  of  course,  so  as  not  to  destroy 
their  moral  free  agency.  And  so  he  has  done.  God 
has  manifested  himself  to  the  moral  nature  of  man  by 
an  uncontrolable  conscience,  which  warns,  rebukes, 
chastises,  threatens  with  a  future,  everlasting,  and 
righteous  retribution;  and  sometimes,  if  not  listened  to 
and  obeyed,  drives  men  to  despair;  thus  commencing 
retribution  already  here.  God  has  manifested  himself  to 
the  intellectual  nature  of  man,  by  impressing  upon  their 
minds  the  consciousness  of  his  own  existence  in  such 
a  mannner,  that  while  they  can  find  no  syllogism  to 
demonstrate  it,  they  are  equally  unable  to  deny  it,  or 
to  rid  themselves  of  it  in  any  way,  and  that  after  ten 
thousand  efforts  of  the  first  intellects,  on  either  side  of 
the  question,  they  are  compelled  to  lay  down  their 
offensive  and  defensive  weapons  at  the  steps  of  his  sov- 
reign  throne,  and  to  confess,  the  idea  of  God  is  a  first 
and  universal  truth,  which  needs  no  proof,  and  fears  no 
refutation.  But  most  men  listen  neither  to  conscience 
nor  to  reason.  It  was  therefore  necessary  that  God 
should  manifest  himself  to  their  senses  also.  This  he 
did,  Jirstj  in  the  wonderful  works  of  nature,  in  their 


I'ATHER,    GLORIFY    THY    NAME.  4§ 

magnitude,  the  regularity  of  their  laws,  their  adaptation 
to  innumerable,  reasonable,  and  benevolent  ends,  and 
their  constant  preservation;  and  secondly,  in  order  to 
leave  nothing  untried  which  could  be  done  without 
wholly  abolishing  the  dispensation  of  faith,  or  destroy- 
ing man's  free  agency;  he  manifested  himself  to  their 
senses  by  occasional,  extraordinary  occurrences  in  nature, 
or  in  the  history  of  mankind;  occurrences  not  capable 
of  being  traced  back  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  nature, 
or  the  common  concatenation  of  events.  And  these 
extraordinary  exhibitions  of  his  existence  and  power 
he  showed  forth  in  every,  part  of  creation,  to  impress 
us  with  the  great  truth,  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  Lord 
of  ALL,  If  any  one  will  take  the  trouble  to  collect 
and  to  class  the  miraculous  displays  of  God's  power 
during  the  times  of  the  Old  and  the  New  Dispensation, 
all  of  which  are  well  attested,  he  will  obtain  an  impo- 
sing picture  of  miracles,  extending  to  every  part  of 
creation,  and  the  symmetry  and  rationality  of  which  at 
once  demonstrate  the  identity  and  the  wisdom  of  the 
Author,  Through  some  thousands  of  years  there 
comes  down  a  chain  of  supernatural  effects,  wrought 
in  the  clear  noon-day  light,  before  friends  and  foes,  and 
which  exhibit  themselves  in  rocks,  in  metals,  in  the 
earth,  the  water,  the  atmosphere;  in  fire,  in  plants, 
fishes,  reptiles,  birds,  four-footed  beasts;  in  men,  in 
their  bodies  and  their  minds;  in  the  luminaries  of 
Heaven;  and  which  addressedt  hemselves  to  the  taste, 
smell,  touch,  sight,  and  hearing  of  all  under  whose 
observation  they  fell,  and  are  now  handed  down  to  us, 
and  will  be  handed  down  to  the  end  of  time,  with  such 
clear  and  strong  evidence  as  would  give  them  before 
5 


46  MEDITATIONS. 

any  regular  bar  of  justice  all  the  power  of  regular, 
unexceptionable,  and  conclusive  testimony;  so  that,  if 
a  man  resists  now,  he  must  not  only  disregard  the  voice 
of  conscience  and  the  light  of  reason,  but  also  in  real- 
ity his  five  senses;  i.  e.  he  must  resist  all  the  evidence 
which  can  be  given  him,  from  the  very  nature  of  his 
own  constitution,  and  he  must  bid  defiance  to  God  in 
Heaven  to  convince  him  by  anything  short  of  the 
irresistible  arm  of  his  omnipotence. 

Yet  this  is  no  uncommon  thing.  Some  of  the  people 
in  our  text  say.  It  thundered: — and  the  far  greater  part 
of  Christendom,  in  reading  in  the  books  of  nature,  of 
history,  of  Providence,  and  in  the  Bible,  of  the  mercies 
and  judgments  of  God,  give  themselves  no  more  con- 
cern about  them,  than  they  would  about  the  dying 
sound  of  some  distant  summer  cloud.  The  harmony  of 
creation  and  its  countless  blessings,  the  most  destruc- 
tive revolutions  of  nature,  the  overturning  of  kingdoms, 
the  deliverance  of  countries,  islands  and  nations  from 
the  thraldom  of  heathenism,  and  their  conversion  to 
the  Christian  faith,  individual  conversions,  and  judg- 
ments in  their  own  immediate  vicinity, —  all  leave  the 
stupid  infidelity  of  carnal  men  alike  untouched.  Unbe- 
lief cannot  receive  instruction,  but  only  punishment. 
They  hear  neither  Moses  nor  the  prophets,  neither 
Christ  nor  the  apostles,  neither  conscience  nor  reason, 
nor  the  five  senses,  nor  the  voice  of  history;  nor  would 
they  believe,  if  one  of  the  dead  should  rise;  nor  would 
they  if  the  very  gates  of  eternity  should  be  thrown 
open,  and  the  boundless  region  of  spirit  pour  upon 
their  senses  the  whole  mass  of  its  unnumbered  popula- 
tion.    But  it  will  not  be  so  always.     When  they  shall 


FATHER,   GLORIFY    THY    NAME.  47 

be  with  the  "rich  man"  in  the  flames,  and  lift  up  their 
eyes,  "  being  in  torment,"  they  will  believe. 

Christ  enters  into  no  dispute  with  the  Jews;  but  after 
assuring  them  that  this  voice  was  nevertheless  come 
for  their  sakes,  that  they  might  believe,  he  goes  on 
to  say,  "  Now  is  the  judgment  of  this  world,  now  shall 
the  prince  of  this  world  be  cast  out.  And  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me." 

Who  "the  prince  of  this  world"  is,  may  easily  be 
gathered  from  John  xiv,  3;  and  xvi,  11;  2  Cor.  iy,  4; 
and  Eph.  vi,  12.  &c.  It  is  Satan,  beyond  reasonable 
dispute.  About  the  meaning  of  his  being  "cast  out," 
some  latitude  of  opinion  must  be  granted,  as  we  have 
no  means  of  ascertaining  its  precise  import.  My  con- 
viction is,  that  it  has  reference  to  some  signal  overturn 
of  Satan's  power,  occasioned  by  the  atoning  sacrifice 
of  Jesus  Christ,  by  which  fallen  humanity  was  brought 
nearer  to  God,  and  in  some  "serious  respects  brought 
into  comparative  liberty  from  the  influence  and  power 
of  the  evil  one.  I  will  not  insist  upon  the  somewhat 
doubtful  subject  of  heathen  oracles  —  the  utter  silence 
of  some,  and  the  rapid  decline  of  all,  soon  after  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ.  The  fact  is  asserted  by  many 
church-fathers;  Lucan,  a  heathen  writer,  laments  the 
silence  of  the  Delphic  oracle,  the  most  famous  perhaps, 
no  more  than  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  our  Lord; 
and  Plutarch  wrote  a  whole  book  on  the  subject  of 
dumb  oracles,  in  which  book  he  endeavors  not  to  refute, 
but  merely  to  account  for,  the  cessation  of  oracular 
responses;  and  this  by  theories  which  do  little  honor 
to  his  penetration.  Now,  if  Satan  is  engaged  in  ruining 
the  souls  of  men,  as  the  Bible  unquestionably  asserts, 


48  MEDITATIQJN'S. 

who  can  doubt  that  he  had  a  hand  in  that  great  engrne 
of  deception,  either  through  natural  or  supernatural 
means?  And  if  the  cessation  of  a  machine,  at  a  time 
when  it  was  most  needed  to  keep  up  idolatry,  cannot 
well  be  accounted  for  from  facts  and  circumstances 
known,  it  certainly  becomes  considerably  probable, 
that  the  curtailing  of  Satan's  power  may  have  been 
its  chief  cause. 

Very  consonant  with  this  would  be  another  fact, 
upon  which  I  should  insist  much  more.  I  mean  the 
cessation  of  demoniacal  possessions  after  the  death  of 
Christ,  which,  at  the  time  of  his  coming  and  before,  were 
so  numerous,  and  against  the  reality  of  which  no  valid 
argument  has  yet  been  advanced.  Matthew  speaks  of 
the  resurrection  of  many  "  saints  which  slept,"  who 
came  out  of  their  graves  after  the  death  of  Christ,  and 
went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many;  and 
Peter  twice  intimates  (1  Peter,  iii,  19,  20.  and  rv.  6,) 
that  something  took  place  then  in  the  region  of  the 
dead,  not  unlike  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  here, 
settling  the  eternal  destinies  of  some  souls,  whose  doom 
oould  not  be  fixed  before  that  great  period.  All  this 
leads  to  the  supposition  that  a  mighty  revolution  was 
produced  by  the  Saviour's  death  in  the  world  of  spirits, 
Satan  in  a  sense  judged,  and  his  power  broken. 

Unto  us,  however,  it  suffices  to  know,  for  the  under- 
standing of  this  passage,  that  by  the  cross  of  Christ  the 
empire  of  Satan  was  Overturned  and  will  be  overturn- 
ing till  he  whose  right  it  is  shall  rule  from  the  rising 
to  the  setting  sun.  To  us  it  suffices  to  know,  that 
although  the  gospel  did  not,  and  does  not  enjoy  the 
use   of  any  carnal  weapons;    although  the  systems  of 


FATHER,   GLORIFY   THY  NAME.  49 

idolatry  were,  at  the  time  of  Christ  and  afterwards, 
guarded  by  the  power  and  influence  of  emperors, 
kings,  and  princes;  although  its  foul  deformities  were 
already  then  carefully  covered  by  philosophers  and 
hierarchs  with  the  saintly  veil  of  allegories  and  spirit- 
ualising comments  ;  although  its  more  intelligent  vota- 
ries, feeling  themselves  rather  unsafe  in  the  decaying 
outworks  of  course  polytheism,  had  made  a  dextrous 
retreat  into  the  inner  entrenchments  of  esoteric  philos- 
ophies ;  although  every  imaginable  spring  and  wheel 
was  put  into  requisition  to  keep  up  the  cause  and  king- 
dom of  Satan  :  yet,  the  simple  story  of  the  cross  did 
overturn  the  whole  stupendous  fabric  from  the  bottom, 
and  made  havoc  of  the  arch-fiend's  combined  forces, 
both  in  the  political  and  the  literary  world,  until,  in  all 
places  to  which  its  voice  extended,  every  idol  was  pros- 
trated, and  every  strong-hold  forced  and  razed  to  the 
ground.  Heathen  Rome,  with  its  countless  temples, 
fell;  and  great  was  the  fall  of  it.  Touched  by  the 
stone  cut  out  without  hands,  the  precipitation  of  its 
ruin  was  majestic  and  tremendous.  Down  it  came, 
like  a  mountain  of  dust  before  the  storm.  While  its 
civil  patrons  gnashed  their  teeth,  and  its  apologists 
affected  to  smile  at  the  tale  of  the  gospel  which  they 
could  not  refute,  the  chariot  wheels  of  the  king  of  kings 
drove  over  their  necks  and  put  them  to  everlasting 
silence.  And  ever  since,  the  assaults  of  the  adversa- 
ries to  pull  down  the  pretended  Jewish  superstition  of 
this  doctrine,  have  reboiinded  upon  them  with  double 
fury,  while  the  cross  of  Christ  has  ever  come  forth 
from  the  contest  like  the  sun  from  behind  the  impure 

smoke  of  angry  volcanoes,  and  remains  ever  fresh  in 

5* 


50  MEDITATIONS, 

loveliness  and  strength,  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation  unto  every  one  that 
believeth. 

*'  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  As  in  general,  so  in  particular,  the 
doctrine  of  the  cross  is  the  most  formidable  weapon 
which  can  be  used  against  the  empire  of  darkness  ; 
for,  in  its  nobler  contest  with  the  conscience  and  the 
sensibilities  of  man,  it  levels  at  the  rebellious  heart 
the  most  overcoming  appeals  which  exist  in  the  whole 
storehouse  of  moral  suasion.  There  is  a  class  of  men 
possessed  of  independent  minds,  who  have  actually 
intrepidity  enough  to  brave  eternal  retributions,  and  to 
bear  up  under  the  most  terrific  denunciations  of  the 
broken  law  of  God.  How  their  temper  will  hold  out 
after  death,  this  is  another  question ;  but  here  it  often 
does  hold  out.  This  is  a  trait  of  character  by  no 
means  laudable,  —  for  it  is  not  courage,  but  madness  ; 
it  is  not  manly  independence,  but  rebellion  against 
God.  But  still,  it  involves  a  degree  of  vigor  and  firm- 
ness, which,  if  they  were  better  employed,  would  reflect 
much  honor  upon  the  character  of  their  possessor, 
and  tend  to  make  him  eminently  useful.  Now,  if  there 
be  yet  left  in  the  heart  of  such  a  man  a  spark  of  sen- 
sibility, and  if  the  Gospel  be  preached  to  him  in  all 
its  freeness,  the  cross  in  all  its  beauty,  and  the  love  of 
Christ  in  all  its  power,  — you  may  depend  upon  it,  he 
is  overcome.  Ashamed  of  himself,  he  will  submit;  he 
cannot,  he  would  not  be  so  base,  so  ungrateful  as  to 
spurn  a  love,  an  affection,  a  sacrifice  so  free,  so  gen- 
erous, so  overcoming.  He  is  a  Christian  from  that 
moment,  and  will  henceforward  employ  all  his  powers 


FATHER,   GLORIFY    THY    NAME.  51 

to  stem  the  flood  of  wickedness  which  rolls  over  this 
earth,  and  use  all  the  firmness  and  independence  of  his 
now  sanctified  character,  to  exhibit  before  the  world 
the  example  of  a  consistent  and  devout  follower  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

And  now,  beloved,  is  there  one  here  to-day  who 
"would  see  Jesus  ?"  But  why  one  only  ?  Would  we 
not  all  rather  see  him,  dearly  beloved  ?  Oh  that  every 
heart  might  now  respond  to  my  question,  1  would  see 
Jesus,  I  would, — I  must  see  Him  !  To  all  such  I  should 
answer,  —  to  all  such  I  do  answer  back  again, —  "  We 
know  that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him  ; 
for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


III. 


THE  GREAT  PASSOVER. 


MATTHEW  XXVI,  3—5,  14—30. 

Then  assembled  together  the  chief  priests,  and  the  scribes,  and  the  elders  of  the 
people,  urito  the  palace  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  called  Caiaphas,  and  consulted 
that  they  might  take  Jesus  by  subtilty  and  kill  him.  But  they  said,  Not  on  the 
feast-day,  lest  there  be  an  uproar  among  the  people. 

Then  one  of  the  twelve,  called  Judas  Iscarlot,  went  unto  the  chief  priests,  and 
said  unto  them,  What  will  ye  give  me,  and  I  will  deliver  him  unto  you?  And 
they  covenanted  with  him  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver.  And  from  that  time  he 
sought  opportunity  to  bftray  him.  Now  the  fiist  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened 
bread,  the  disciples  came  to  Jesus,  saying  unto  him,  Where  wilt  thou  that  we 
prepare  for  thee  to  eat  the  passover?  And  he  said,  Go  into  the  city  to  such  a 
man,  and  say  unto  him,  The  Master  saith,  My  time  is  at  hand;  I  will  keep  the 
passover  at  thy  house  with  my  disciples.  And  the  disciples  did  as  Jesus  had 
appointed  them;  and  they  made  ready  the  passover.  Now  when  the  even  was 
come,  he  sat  down  with  the  twelve.  And  as  they  did  eat,  he  said.  Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  that  one  of  you  shall  betray  me.  And  they  were  exceeding  sorrowful, 
and  began  every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him.  Lord,  is  it  I.''  And  he  answered 
and  said.  He  that  dippeth  his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me. 
The  Son  of  man  goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him;  but  wo  unto  that  man  by  whom 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  !  it  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  been 
born.  Then  Judas,  which  betrayed  him,  answered  and  said.  Master,  is  it  I?  He 
said  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said. 

And  as  they  were  eating,  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and  brake  it,  and  gave 
it  to  the  disciples,  and  said,  Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body.     And  he  took  the  cup. 


54  MEDITATIONS. 

and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to  them,  saying,  Drink  ye  all  of  it ;  for  this  is  my 
blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  But 
I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom.  And  when  they  had  sung 
an  hymn,  they  went  out  into  the  mount  of  Olives. 

Compare  Mark  xiv.  1,  3  ;  10 — 26  ;   Luke  xtii,  1  —  30;  John  13. 

You  are  aware,  I  have  omitted  large  portions  of 
scripture  between  our  last  text  and  the  one  of  to-day, 
because  they  contained  chiefly  parables,  &c.  I  shall 
endeavor  to  present  to  you  a  connected  view  of  the  scene 
now  before  us,  which  1  think  will  of  itself  occupy  all  the 
time  which  can  be  allotted  to  this  part  of  our  worship. 
Being  thus  obliged  to  sacrifice  that  part  of  the  sermon 
which  is  usually  occupied  by  practical  remarks,  may 
it  be  given  to  each  one  of  us,  as  we  go  along,  to  receive 
such  impressions,  and  to  gather  such  profit  and  enjoy- 
ment, as  will  meet  our  several  spiritual  necessities, 
and  render  this  a  blessed  and  comfortable  season  to  our 
souls. 

We  commenced  with  the  entrance  of  Christ  into 
Jerusalem.  This  was  the  history  of  Whitsunday.  The 
purification  of  the  temple  and  the  history  of  the  barren 
fig-tree,  together  with  a  few  parables  and  a  number 
of  occurrences,  such  as  the  healing  of  the  sick,  the 
hosannas  of  the  children  in  the  temple,  the  questions 
of  the  Herodians  concerning  the  tribute  of  Csesar,  the 
controversy  of  the  pharisees  about  our  Lord's  authority 
in  matters  of  worship  and  temple  regulations,  and  the 
one  of  the  sadducees  respecting  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  etc,  all  of  which  we  passed  by  because  the  his- 
torical elements  in  them  are  not  prominent  enough  to 
enter  into  our  plan;  these  and  like  details,  we  observe, 
form  the  history  of  Monday  and  Tuesday.     Wednesday 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  55 

came,  and  Christ,  according  to  his  custom,  visited  again 
the  temple,  passing  from  Bethany,  his  secret  abode,  over 
the  mount  of  Olives,  and  through  the  valley  of  the  brook 
of  Cedron  to  the  holy  city.  Wednesday  was  a  memora- 
ble day.  He  finds,  as  usual,  the  pharisees  and  scribes 
crowding  the  temple  gates.  Already  the  eternal  con- 
demnation of  most  of  them,  if  not  of  all,  had  been  sealed, 
and  their  hearts  and  minds  left  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
the  unrestrained  influences  of  the  powers  of  darkness. 
Hence  the  fearful  progress  of  their  rage  and  revenge 
against  God  and  his  anointed,  and  the  acceleration  of 
their  doom.  Forbearance  was  at  an  end.  Christ,  the 
searcher  of  hearts,  well  discerned  their  case,  and  with 
unexampled  severity  bursts  forth  upon  these  reprobated 
men  in  that  awful  discourse  which  you  find  in  the  23d 
chapter  of  Matthew,  In  this  heart-searching,  over- 
whelming address,  which  rolls  along  like  liquid  fire, 
and  which  in  point  of  power  and  unmingled  terror  has 
not  its  equal,  he  lays  open  their  most  secret  crimes, 
announces  to  them  and  their  guilty  nation  the  woes  and 
miseries  which  had  now  become  in  the  records  of 
Heaven  their  irrevocable  and  melancholy  doom,  and 
gives  them  thus  a  foretaste  of  judgment  to  come.  This 
sermon  closes  his  public  ministry  ;  it  is  the  last  he  ever 
delivered.  He  began  his  ministry  by  speaking  as  never 
man  spake:  he  closed  it  by  speaking  as  man  never  will, 
never  may  speak  again. 

He  passes  out  from  the  temple,  none  daring  to  put 
his  hand  upon  him.  His  disciples  follow  him  in  con- 
sternation of  mind.  His  voice,  ringing  down  through 
the  high  porches  of  the  temple, — "  O  Jerusalem,  Jeru- 
salem, thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them 


56  MEDITATIONS. 

which  are  sent  unto  thee,  etc." — "Behold  your  house 
shall  be  left  unto  you  desolate  ! — this  terrible  voice, — 
for  it  had  never  sounded  so  before, — kept  ringing  in 
their  ears,  and  melting  their  hearts.  This  "house," 
this  great  temple,  —  is  it  really  to  be  destroyed  ? 
Impossible  !  Insupportable  thought  !  ah,  they  cannot 
bear,  they  cannot  believe  it.  Christ,  whom  their 
thoughts  and  feelings  could  not  escape,  as  he  passes 
through  the  court,  turns  towards  them,  and,  as  they 
gather  about  him,  and  endeavor  to  lead  his  mind  to  a 
consideration  of  the  vastness  and  magnificence  of  the 
temple  edifice,  if,  peradventure,  that  might  move  him  to 
recall  the  sentence  of  destruction  which  he  had  just 
pronounced  upon  it,  he  repeats  and  confirms  it  still,  and 
with  that  asseveration  which  cut  off  every  ray  of  hope, 
(Matth.  xxiv,  :  1,  2.)  "Verily  («;"v^')  I  say  unto  you, 
there  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone  upon  another  that 
shall  not  be  thrown  down." 

The  minds  of  the  disciples  must  necessarily  have 
been  deeply  impressed  with  this  absorbing  subject. 
Now  they  could  no  longer  doubt,  but  that  city  and  tem- 
ple would  one  day  experience  an  utter  desolation. 
There  was,  however,  no  opportunity  in  the  crowded 
temple  courts  to  propose  to  their  master  any  questions 
on  the  subject;  and  they  follow  him  in  silence,  as  he 
passes  along,  through  the  streets,  down  the  valley,  and 
over  the  bridge  of  the  Cedron,  towards  Bethany.  This 
was  his  last  return  to  that  retired,  humble  spot,  which 
had  been,  perhaps,  his  most  endearing  earthly  home, 
and  where  alone,  in  all  the  region  of  Jerusalem,  he  had 
found  true  and  faithful  hearts  and  a  safe  retreat  from  the 
cunning  wiles  of  wicked  men.   As  he  mounted  the  west- 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  5? 

ern  ascent  of  mount  Olivet  he  sat  down  once  more 
to  look  back  upon  the  city  of  David  and  the  temple  of 
Jehovah,    and   the    land   of  prophets    and   patriarchs. 
Their  glory  was  now  departed ;   and  church  and  state 
and  land   lay  prostrate,  like   the   lifeless  corpse   of  a 
giant,  to  moulder  away  in  quick  and  eternal  dissolution. 
The  disciples  now  seized  the  favorable  opportunity  to 
propose  their  questions  on   the  subject  of  Jerusalem's 
destruction,  upon  which  they  seem  to  have  agreed   by 
the  way.     Probably  owing  to  the  literal  construction  of 
Is.  ii,  and  Micah  iv,  or   some   other  similar  passage, 
they  had  cherished  the  pleasing    hope,  that   city   and 
temple  would  stand  at  least  until  the  judgment  day,  and 
the  end  of  the   present    dispensation  of  nature.     The 
coming  of  Christ  to  judgment  and  the  close  of  his  dis- 
pensation  were   thus  naturally   and  necessarily    iden- 
tified in  their  minds  with  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  temple.     And  as  they  had  reason  to  believe  that 
these  great  events  would  be  preceded  by  some  special 
external  signs,  they   draw  near  to  Christ  and    propose 
to  him  the  following   threefold    question  :     "  Tell  us, 
when  shall  these  things  be,"  i.  e.  when  shall  city  and 
temple  be  overthrown;  —  when  shall  be   "thy  coming 
and  the  end  of  the  world;  — and  what  shall  be  the  sign 
of  all  this  ^  Matt,  xxiv,  3.     To  this  threefold  question, 
Christ  answers  in  the  24th  and  25th  chapters  of  St.  Mat- 
thew, by  giving  them  a  joint    picture  of  both    events, 
and  their   respective   signs,  leaving  it  to  the  different 
periods     of    fulfillment  to    separate    and  explain   the 
different  and  mingled  parts  of  the  grand  sketch.     How 
well  their  seemingly  confused  representation,  which  has 
to    this   very  day   eluded    the  scrutiny    of  unpractical 
6 


58  MEDITAtlOJfS. 

Speculation  ;   how  well  it  was  calculated  for  practical 
purposes,  the  history  of  Jerusalem's  destruction  itself 
shows,  by  informing   us  how  a  few  hints    contained  in 
the  !24th  chapter  of  Matthew  proved  the  salvation  of  the 
whole  Christian  church  at  Jerusalem.     About  an  hour 
ago,  Christ  had  closed  his  office  as   'd  j)reMcher  of  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  :  now  he  closes  his  prophetic  office, 
and  then  proceeds  to  Bethany  to  refresh  his  heart  once 
more  with  his  pious  friends    there,  and  to  take  his  last 
night's    rest    upon    earth.       Those   who   pretend  that 
Christ  was  during  this  week  invited  to   two  suppers  at 
Bethany,  and  that  he  was  twice  anointed,  etc.,  assign 
this  evening  to  the  supper  in  Simon's  house.     But  it 
is  easy  to  see    how  inconvenient  for  such  a  purpose 
this   evening   would    have   been   to    Simon,  when  the 
festival  was  at  hand,  how  likely  he  would   have   been 
to  defer  his  invitation  till  at  least  caster  day's  evening; 
and  especially,  how    little  disposed  Christ  would  have 
been  to  spend  his  last   evening    at  Bethany  in  public. 
They  moreover  split  up  the  discourses  of  Christ,  con- 
tained in  the  chapter  14 —  17  of  St.  John,  assigning  the 
14th  chapter  to  this  evening,  and  the  rest  to  the  evening 
of  the  Passover  at  Jerusalem  —  a  separation  which  is 
intolerably    hard  and   forced.     I    am   satisfied    Christ 
spent  the  remainder  of  Wednesday  at   home  in  Laz- 
arus' house  ;  and  if  the  apostles  had  been  permitted  to 
write  down  what  they   pleased,  we   should  really  have 
reason  to   complain  of  them,  that  they,  and  especially 
John,  did  not  preserve  the  conversation  of  this  inter- 
esting season. 

Proceeding  to  the  history  of  Thursday,  we  shall  en- 
deavor to  harmonize  the  four  evangelists  in  reference 
to  its  various  events. 


THE     GREAT    PASSOVER.  59 

First,  let  us  briefly  consider  the  plain,  connected  his- 
tory of  the  exit  of  Israel  from  Egypt  and  of  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Passover  and  the  festival  of  unleavened 
bread.  This  is  not  only  the  best,  but  the  only  key  to 
the  language  of  the  evangelists  on  the  subject  of  our 
meditation,  and  it  will  make  plain  and  easy  what  has 
occasioned  such  dreadful  confusion  and  dispute  among 
the  very  best  commentators  on  our  pi^senttext. 

The  time  of  Israel's  deliverance  drew  near.  One 
miracle  more  —  dreadful  in  its  nature  —  and  Pharaoh 
•and  Egypt  were  to  be  prostrated  with  awe  and  fear, 
and  the  bands  of  God's  people  broken.  In  the  night 
belonging  to  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  month  called 
Nisan,  and  which  forever  remained  the  first  month  of 
the  year  among  the  Israelites,  Jehovah  was  to  pass 
through  the  land  of  Egypt,  to  smite  all  the  first-born  in 
the  land  of  Egypt  both  man  and  beast.  (Comp.  Ex. 
-xii,  vs.  1,2  and  6.)  This  night,  according  to  Jewish 
ireckoning,  beginning  the  day  at  sunset,  was  of  course 
the  night  between  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  day 
of  the  month.  From  the  tenth  day  of  this  month  to 
the  close  of  the  thirteenth  or  the  beginning  of  the  four- 
teenth day,  a  lamb  was  to  be  kept  by  every  Jewish  fam- 
ily large  enough  to  consume  it  at  once;  and  between 
the  evenings  (i.  e.  between  3  and  6  o'clock)  preceding 
the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  day,  the  lamb  was  to  be 
killed,  the  door-posts  touched  with  its  blood,  and  the 
lamb  itself  roasted  with  fire  and  eaten  that  very  night. 
That  the  time  when  the  lambs  were  killed  was  between 
the  thirteenth  and  fourtenth  day,  and  not  between  the 
fourteenth  and  fifteenth,  is  plainer  than  noonday,  from 
the  facts  —  first,  that  the  passover  was  to  be  held  pn  the 


60  MEDITATIONS. 

fourteenth  day,  in  the  night  belonging  to  it,  while  Jeho- 
vah passed  through  Egypt  with  the  last  plague,  i.  e.  the 
slaughter-of  the  first  born;   and  second,  that  in  thus 
passing  through  the  land,  the  Lord  expected  to  find  the 
blood  of  the  lambs  on  the  door-posts  of  every  Jewish 
family.     Driven  out  by  the  Egyptians,  in  consequence 
of  the  dire  calamity  which  had  befallen  the  latter,  Israel 
was  necessitated  to  leave  Egypt  during  the  day-time  of 
the  fourteenth  day  of  Nisan,  and  to  take  along  with  them 
the  unleavened  dough  in  their  kneading  troughs,  which 
they  subsequently  baked  and   ate  unleavened,    during 
the  evening  season,  i.  e.   about  the  beginning   of  the 
fifteenth  day  of  Nisan,  just  as  soon  as  sufficient  of  a  halt 
could  be  made  by  the  caravan  to  afford  an  opportunity 
for  baking  and  eating.    All  this  gave  rise  to  the  double 
divine  institution  of  the  celebration  of  the  Passover,  or 
the  eating  of  the  Paschal  lamb  in  the  night  belonging 
to  the  fourteenth  day  of  Nisan,  and  to  the  subsequent 
period  of  the  unleavened  bread  on  the  fifteenth  day  of 
the  same  month  and  the  six  days  following  that.     From 
Ex.  xii.  18,  it  might  indeed  appear  as  though  the  four- 
teenth   day  was    the   proper    first  day  of  unleavened 
bread.  But  a  comparison  of  Levit.  xxiii,  5,  shows  plainly 
that  the  language  in  this  verse  is  not  logically  definite, 
the  subject  being  too  plain  to  require  this,  and  that  the 
"even"  there,  is  the  even  from  three  to  six  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  fourteenth  day  itself,  and  not  of  the 
thirteenth  day,  as  in  vs.  6.     For  there  (Levit.  xxiii,  5, 
k-c.)  we  are  told  expressly,  that  the  fourteenth  day  of 
Nisan  is  the  Passover  day,  and  the  fifteenth  the  day  of 
the  festival  of  unleavened  bread;  and  that,  besides,  on 
this  latter  day  as  well  as  on  the  seventh  day  from  it,  no 


THE     GREAT    PASSOVER.  61 

servile  work  was  to  be  done.  On  the  five  intermediate 
days,  as  well  as  on  the  proper  Paschal  day,  such  work 
could  therefore  obviously  be  done.  The  fifteenth  day 
being  thus  considered  a  kind  of  Sabbath,  b.  paraskere, 
or  "  preparation,"  was  connected  with  it,  which  occu- 
pied the  hours  from  three  to  six  o'clock,  afternoon  of 
the  fourteenth,  or  the  proper  Passover-day.  From  the 
close  connection  of  these  two  solemnities,  i.  e.  the 
Passover  and  the  festival  of  unleavened  bread,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  circumstance  mentioned,  the  followmg 
indefiniteness  of  expression  was  the  natural  result  in 
common  parlance.  The  term  Passover  is  in  the  evan- 
gelists the  general  term  for  the  entire  celebrations 
from  the  Passover  day  to  the  seventh  day  of  the  feast  of 
unleavened  bread.  Thus  it  is  used  in  Luke  ii.  41, — 
John  ii,  13  and  23,  and  other  places,  in  Luke  xxii,  1  ; 
(comp.  Exod.  xiii,  18.)  Again,  the  festival  of  the  un- 
leavened bread  is  called  Passover  by  way  of  eminence, 
because  it  is  the  greater  of  the  two  days.  Again,  the 
fourteenth  was  called  tlie  "  paraskere,"  because  the 
preparation  for  the  fifteenth  day  or  the  festival^  fell 
into  the  last  three  hours  of  the  fourteenth  day. 

'' And  it  came  to  pass"  (says  Matthew  xxvi,  1,  2) 
*'  when  Jesus  had  delivered  all  these  sayings,"  —  i.  e. 
all  those  contamed  in  the  chapters  xxiv,  xxv,  —  ''he 
said  unto  liis  disciples,  ye  know  that  after  two  days  is 
the  feast  of  the  Passover,  and  the  Son  of  man  is  or  will 
be  betrayed  to  be  crucified."  "Tlie  feast  of  the  Pass- 
over" is  here  the  festival  of  unleavened  bread,  com- 
mencing that  year  on  Friday  evening,  and  ending  on 
Saturday  evening.  These  words  our  Lord  uttered, 
therefore,  probably  Wednesday  evening.  ''Then/' 
6* 


62  MEDITATIONS. 

Matthew  continues,  "  assembled  together  the  chief 
priests  and  the  scribes  and  the  elders  of  the  people 
unto  the  palace  of  the  high  priest,  who  was  called 
Caiphas,  and  consulted  that  they  might  take  Jesus  by 
su^3tilty  and  kill  him.  But  they  said,  not  on  the  feast- 
day,  (i.  e.  not  during  the  festival  week  of  unleavened 
bread)  lest  there  be  an  uproar  among  the  people."  To 
crucify  him  on  the  proper  ^rs^  day  of  unleavened  bread, 
(i.  e.  the  fifteenth  of  Nisan)  would  have  been  altogether 
against  the  law;  nor  would  the  law  have  permitted  the 
people  to  make  "an  uproar."  For  this  decided  step 
which  the  Sanhedrim  took  on  Wednesday  evening,  our 
Lords'  last  sermon  was  in  their  opinion  the  most  abun- 
dant provocation.  "  Then  one  of  the  twelve,"  Matthew 
again  remarks,  "  called  Judas  Iscariot,  went  unto  the 
chief  priests,"  etc.,  so  that  also  falls  into  Wednesday 
evening;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  when  Christ 
departed  from  Jerusalem,  the  traitor  lingered  behind, 
under  some  pretext,  to  improve  the  irritated  state  of 
chief  priests'  minds,  in  order  to  make  a  good  bargain, 
in  which,  however,  he  was  sadly  disappointed  by  these 
crafty  tradesmen. 

''Now  the  first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread," 
says  Matthew,  "  the  disciples  came  to  Jesus,  saying 
unto  him,  where  wilt  thou  that  we  prepare  for  thee  to 
eat  the  passover  .''  The  expression  of  Matthew,  *'  the 
first  day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,"  is  explained 
by  Mark  to  be  "  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread, 
ivhen  they  killed  the  passover,"  or  the  Paschal  lamb ;  and 
Luke  gives  it  the  same  appellation,  with  the  addition 
of  representing  the  killing  of  the  Paschal  lamb  as 
decidedly  future.     It  was  therefore    the  thirteenth  day 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  63 

when  the  disciples  proposed  the  preparation  of  the 
Passover.  But  how  does  Matthew  call  it  "the  first 
day  of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,"  a  term  belonging 
to  the  fifteenth  and  not  to  the  thirteenth  day  of  Nisan  ? 
The  answer  is  simply  this.  According  to  the  tradition- 
ary law  of  the  Jews,  the  leaven  was  to  be  purged  away 
from  the  eve  between  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  day, 
to  near  the  close  of  the  latter.  Nothing  therefore  could 
be  more  natural  than,  first,  to  begin  the  laborious  task  of 
searching  the  house  for  leaven  (see  Mishnah,  Pesakim) 
in  good  season;  second,  to  call  in  common  parlance  the 
the  fourteenth  day,  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread, 
it  being  in  reality  the  fit^st  day  when  all  leaven  was  put 
away;  and  third,  when  engaged  in  the  bustle  of  clean- 
ing and  making  preparations  against  this  fourteenth  day, 
to  say  that  the  first  day  of  unleavened  bread  was  come, 
although  in  reality  the  thirteenth  day  may  not  have  been 
closed  yet.  This  is  the  familiar  way  in  which  the 
three  first  evangelists  speak  of  the  occasion,  and 
Matthew  in  particular  so,  who  besides  uses  the  term 
"feast"  in  that  general  sense  which  includes  the 
whole  of  the  festivities  during  the  eight  days  fromthe 
Passover  to  the  close  of  the  week  of  unleavened  bread. 
Hence,  if  St.  John  (xiii,  1)  represents  the  last  supper 
to  have  taken  place  "  before  the  feast  of  the  Passover, 
he  perfectly  agrees  with  the  other  evangelists  in 
sense,  but  writing,  as  he  did,  for  the  Greeks,  he  for- 
sook the  Jewish  language  of  common  intercourse  on 
the  subject,  and  stated  accurately  that  the  feast  of  the 
Passover  season,  i.  e.  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread 
(on  the  fifteenth  day)  had  not  yet  arrived,  when  Jesus 
knew  that  his  hour  was  come,  etc.     To  clear  away 


64  MEDITATIONS. 

the  darkness  from  two  or  three  passages  more :  — - 
When  it  is  stated,  (John  xiii,  27 — 29)  that  our  Lord 
said  to  Judas  "that  thou  doest,  do  quickly,"  and  that 
the  disciples,  not  understanding  the  import  of  this 
l^einark,  thought  it  had  reference  to  some  purchases  yet 
to  be  made,  oi*  to  almsgiving,  we  need  not  at  all  be 
surprised,  as  so  many  not  uninformed  men  seem  to 
have  been.  The  whole  fourteenth  day,  which  had  just 
began,  was  devoted  to  preparations,  purchases,  etc. 
against  the  fifteenth  day  —  this  being  the  first  one  in 
which  no  servile  work  was  to  be  done.  Again:  when  we 
shall  see  the  Sanhedrim  assemble  in  the  night,  and  in 
the  morning  after  the  Paschal  lamb  had  been  already 
killed  and  eaten ;  when  we  shall  accompany  them  to 
Pilate,  to  Herod,  and  to  Golgotha,  and  see  them  em- 
ployed in  a  matter  very  different  from  what  the  j^^'oper 
festival  or  any  Sabbath  would  have  permitted  them  to 
handle  ;  we  must  again  remember  that  the  fourteeth  of 
Nisan  was  a  proper  season,  in  the  letter  of  the  law, 
for  ail  this,  and  that  until  the  evening  closing  that  day 
imposed  upon  them  the  duty  of  rest;  (comp.  the  close 
of  Luke,  and  xxiii  the  parallel  passages.)  Again,  when 
this  same  day  is  called  the  "preparation,"  (Mark  xv.l2, 
Luke  xxiii.  54,  John  xix.  42)  this  preparation  has 
reference  to  "the  Sabbath"  which  "drew on"  and  the 
proper  festival  of  unleavened  bread,  which  this  year 
was  connected  with  it  and  enhanced  its  sanctity. 
Matthew,  xxvii.  62,  we  read  :  "  Now  the  next  da?/,  that 
followed  the  day  of  the  preparation,  the  chief  priests 
and  pharisees  came  together  unto  Pilate  "to  beg  for 
a  guard  to  keep  the  sepulchre."  This  "  next  day^'  was 
Friday  evening  —  the  proper    festival    (the    fifteenth 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  S5 

Nisan)  and  the  Sabbath  having  already  commenced. 
To  exculpate  the  Sanhedrim  for  this  breach  of  the  Sab- 
bath is  none  of  my  duties.  Finally,  when  we  are  told 
(John  xviii.  28)  that  the  Jews  themselves  went  not 
into  the  judgment  hall,  lest  they  should  be  defiled, 
but  that  they  might  eat  the  Passover,  we  readily 
remove  this  so  called  unmovable  difficulty  by  calling 
to  mind  that  the  word  "  Passover"  designates  in  a 
general  sense  all  the  festivities  of  the  season  of 
unleavened  bread;  and  that  therefore  the  plain  mean- 
ing here  is,  that  the  Jews  kept  out  of  the  judgment  hall 
not  to  become  unclean  against  the  feast  (the  fifteenth 
Nisan)  which  was  nov/  fast  drawing  nigh.  Thus  these 
and  all  other  difficulties  relative  to  this  complicated 
subject  may  be  disposed  of  to  the  perfect  satisfaction 
of  every  candid  man. 

The  chronological  result  of  ail  this  is,  that  the  disci- 
ples approached  our  Lord  on  the  thirteenth  of  Nisan, 
and  made  the  preparation  for  the  celebration  of  the 
Paschal  season  the  same  day ;  that  the  evening  follow- 
ing, at  the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  of  Nisan, 
(Thursday  evening)  they  partook  of  their  meal,  together 
with  all  other  Jews,  according  to  the  law;  and  that  all 
the  difficulties  raised  against  this  view  are  founded 
upon  the  ignorance  or  the  mistakes  of  those  who  made 
them.  The  time  of  our  text  being  thus  settled,  the 
time  and  order  of  the  subsequent  events  are  clear  of 
themselves. 

The  question  of  the  disciples,  where  the  Passover 
was  to  be  prepared,  was  probably  asked  in  good  sea- 
son during  the  forenoon,  in  order  to  give  some  time  to 
the    landlord  who  was  to    prepare    the    repast.       The 


^6  *    MEDITATIONS. 

reply  of  Christ  was  more  particularly  directed  to 
Peter  and  John,  as  Luke  informs  us;  and  the  whole 
of  the  charge  given  to  them,  and  variously  related  by 
the  evangelists,  would  be  as  follows:  "  Go  into  the 
city,  and  when  ye  shall  have  entered  it,  there  shall  a 
man  meet  you  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water  :  follow  him 
into  the  house  where  he  entereth  in,  and  say  unto  the 
good  man  of  the  house  :  The  master  saith,  My  time  is 
at  hand  :  I  will  keep  the  Passover  at  thy  house  with 
my  disciples;  where  is  the  chamber  where  I  shall  keep 
it  ?  and  he  will  show  you  a  large  upper  room  fur- 
nished: there  make  ready." 

The  opinion  that  Christ  had  beforehand  spoken  to 
the  man  in  whose  house  he  intended  to  keep  the  Pass- 
over, and  that  on  that  account  he  could  so  exactly  fore- 
tell that  a  servant  with  a  pitcher  of  water  would  await 
the  disciples  when  they  should  enter  the  city,  and  that 
an  upper  room  furnished  would  be  shown  to  them, 
though  it  is  held  by  neither  few  nor  insignificant  men, 
I  deem  so  utterly  and  glaringly  inconsistent  with  the 
dignity  of  Christ  and  the  solemnity  of  his  situation  at 
tiiis  period,  that  I  shall  content  myself  with  having 
barely  noticed  it.  I  deem  the  indication  of  these  cir- 
cumstances to  be  one  exhibition  more  of  that  know- 
ledge of  Christ  which  he  possessed  as  a  property  be- 
longing to  his  divine  nature,  omniscience,  which  he 
does  not  indeed  seem  to  have  exercised  at  all  times, 
but  rather  denied;  but  which  was  always  at  his  com- 
mand, and  used  by  him  on  every  proper  occasion. 
The  familiar  and  indefinite  language  which  Christ 
puts  into  the  mouth  of  John  and  Peter,  seems  to  imply 
that  the  landlord  was  acquainted  with  Christ,  and 
perhaps  a  secret  believer  in  him. 


THE  Great  passover.  67 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  our  Lord  left  at 
all  his  peaceful    retreat  during   Thursday,  until  it  was 
time  to  go  to  the    place  where  his  last  repast  was  pre- 
pared.    If  Judas  did  not  start  to  call  upon  the  Jews  in 
Jerusalem  until    Thursday  morning,  which  I    think  is 
most    likely,    then    Christ  was    probably    all  the    day 
alone   with  his   dear  disciples,  and  with  Lazarus   and 
Martha    and  Mary,    and   perhaps    one    or    two    pious 
friends  more.     And  it  is  delightful  and  soul-refreshing 
to  think  that  at   least   one    drop  of  heavenly  comfort 
was  mingled  with   the    bitter  cup  of  his    approaching 
sufferings.     In  what  holy    conversation,  mingled  here 
and    there  with  a    psalm    and  with  fervent  prayer,  the 
day  was  spent;   what  artless  tokens  of  pious    affection 
and  tender  regard  were  given    and  received;   how  the 
bond  of  perfectness  must  have  bound  faster  and  tighter 
heart  to    heart,   and  the   fire  of    love    and    godliness 
in   each  believer   gathered   strength,  brightness,    and 
warmth,  from    mingling  with  all  the  rest  close  around 
the  fountain-head  of  life  and  light, — it  is  easier  to  con- 
ceive than  to  describe.     Oh  !    if  Christians   could   do 
away  the  idle  talk  out  of  their  mouth,  and  remember  that 
their  whole   life  is  but  one  continued    parting    scene; 
that  they  are  all  the  time  parting  with  men  and  things, 
with  duties  and  enjoyments,  with  youth  and  health  and 
strength,  with    hours,  days,  and  years,  to  see  them  no 
more  till  the  day  of  account  and  of  retribution:  — Oh! 
what    solemnity,    what  sacred  awe,  what  holy  caution, 
what  heavenly  wisdom,  would  overflow  and  sanctify  all 
their  words,  and  looks,  and    deeds.      How   would    the 
laughter  of  folly  die,  and    the  idle  tale    grow   insipid, 
and  worldly  schemes  fade,  and  the  dread  of  eternity  take 


68  MEDITATIONS. 

wings  and  fly  away,  and  the  unction  from  the  Holy 
one  descend,  and  the  peace  of  God  and  the  foretaste 
of  Heaven  fill  their  hearts  and  their  dwellings.  Ah, 
our  guilt  is  our  immeasurable  loss  !  Oh  !  that  my 
head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  fountains  of  tears, 
that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  over  my  years  wasted 
and  lost,  over  more  than  half  a  life  spent  but  too 
much  like  the  silly  and  useless  tale  of  a  fool  !  May  the 
Lord  have  mercy,  and  forgive  and  heal  me  and  all  his 
people  from  that  abominable  thoughtlessness,  which 
so  much  spoils  our  conversation  and  so  deeply  wounds 
the  heart  and  the  cause  of  our  Lord. 

The  time  to  depart  draws  near,  and  our  Lord  makes 
ready  with  his  disciples.  None  but  himself  knew  that 
this  was  to  be  his  last  farewell  from  Lazarus,  Mary, 
and  Martha,  from  his  seat  at  their  table,  from  the  bow- 
ers or  closet  of  his  retiremxcnt  for  meditation  and 
secret  prayer,  from  the  corner  where  his  humble  couch 
used  to  be  spread  out  at  night.  He  had  long  before 
left  and  denied  greater  things  than  these  for  us;  but  a 
tender  heart  never  gets  used  to  parting  or  hardened 
against  the  melting  sorrows  of  separation  from  those  we 
love.  A  tear  may  well  have  started  in  his  eye,  as  he 
blessed  them,  and,  thanking  them  for  their  love  and  all 
their  kind  services,  commended  them  to  his  father  in 
Heaven,  as  the  rewarder  of  every  work  of  faith  and 
love.  And  many  an  aspiration  may  have  gone  up  to 
Heaven  in  their  behalf  as  they  passed  along  the  solitary 
way  to  the  city. 

In  due  season  he  arrived  at  the  appointed  place; 
the  table  is  spread;  the  Paschal  lamb,  the  other  re- 
freshments, (John  xiii,  1)  and  the  cup  of  blessing,  are 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  69 

sei'Ved  up,  and  Jesus,  knowing  "that  his  hour  was 
come  that  he  should  depart  out  of  this  world  unto  the 
Father,  he  loved  them  unto  the  end,"  having  loved  his 
own  which  were  in  the  world,  (Luke  xxii.  15,  16.) 
"And  he  said  unto  them.  With  desire  have  I  desired  to 
eat  this  Passover  with  you  before  I  suffer  :  for  I  say 
unto  you  I  will  not  any  more  eat  thereof,  until  it  be  ful- 
filled in  the  kingdom  of  God."  Thus  the  most  solemn 
of  all  subjects  was  almost  introduced,  and  our  Lord 
ready  to  proceed  in  remarks  which  would  have  opened 
another  world  to  them,  when,  even  at  this  time,  his 
never-failing  charity  and  forbearance  were  put  to  the 
trial  by  a  most  unhappy  interruption,  (vs.  24)  "  and 
there  was  also  a  strife  among  them,"  says  Luke, 
"which  of  them  should  be  accounted  the  greatest." 

They  had  repeatedly  been  reproved  for  their  undue 
aspiration  after  greatness.  But  ah  !  pride  sits  deep  in 
the  human  breast.  However,  let  us  be  as  charitable 
as  w«  can,  being  encompassed  ourselves  with  like  in- 
firmities. Indeed,  I  do  not  think  that  the  idea  of  the 
disciples  respecting  the  kingdom  of  Christ  were  quite 
as  gross  and  secular  as  some  suppose  them  to  have 
been  :  and  aspiring  to  eminence  in  that  kingdom  which 
they  supposed  Christ  would  rear,  may  very  probably 
have  been  something  very  different  from  the  coarse 
ambition  of  wholly  worldly-minded  men.  Moreover,  to 
be  great  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  would  bring  a  man 
into  nearer  relation  to,  and  intercourse  with,  Christ 
himself;  and  then,  in  this  instance,  the  "strife"  was 
perhaps  occasioned  by  the  questions,  who  should 
already  now  sit  nearest  to  Christ,  who  on  his  right, 
who  on  his  left,  and  who  opposite  this.  How  much 
7 


70  MEDITATIONS. 

such  considerations  affect  and  alter  the  nature  of  the 
case  it  is  easy  to  see,  and  we  would  almost  forgive 
them,  if  they  had  striven  quite  earnestly.  Had  we  our- 
selves been  there,  I  do  not  know  what  we  should  have 
done;  and  in  a  certain  sense  we  all  aspire  and  ought 
to  aspire  to  as  high  a  place  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
as  we  may.  But  the  apostles  ought  to  have  remem- 
bered, and  so  ought  we,  that  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
laws  and  principles  govern  which  are  diametrically  op- 
posite to  the  maxims  of  the  world.  There  a  man  be- 
comes great  by  becoming  small;  the  greatest  saint 
there  is  the  most  helpless  sinner;  all  reign  by  serving, 
and  every  one  is  the  least;  and  hence,  true  and 
thorough  self-humiliation  is  the  only  wing  which  will 
bear  a  sinner  up  to  the  right  hand  of  the  King  of  kings. 
In  Heaven  competition  works  the  contrary  way,  (i.  e. 
downward)  and  the  strife  of  self-denying,  self-forgetting 
love  is  the  only  one  known  among  the  true  children  of 
light  in  either  world,  that  above  and  that  here  below. 
The  disciples  were  still  both  wrong  and  unwise,  there- 
fore, to  strive  for  preeminence,  though  their  strife 
may  not  have  been  altogether  a  carnal  one;  and  they 
needed  to  be  reproved  and  corrected;  and  Christ,  in 
his  untiring  forbearance,  proceeds  to  the  correction 
without  delay.  And  the  manner  in  which  he  corrects 
their  fault,  is  perfumed  with  the  very  frankincense  of 
Heaven,  and  an  eternal  monument  of  divine  love. 

"And  the  supper  having  commenced  (^tov  delnvov 
ysvofievou,  for  SO  I  must  translate,  and  not  like  our 
English  version,  which  renders  it  "  the  supper  been 
ended")  the  devil  having  already  (not  now)  put  into 
the  heart  of  Judas  Iscariot,  Simon's  son,  to  betray  him; 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  71 

Jesus,  "when  he  noticed  the  contention  of  the  disci- 
ples, although  he  knew  that  the  Father  had  given  all 
things  into  his  hands,  and  that  he  was  come  from  God, 
and  went  to  God,"  —  although  he  was  conscious  of  his 
supreme  dignity  and  his  divine  nature,  —  "he  riseth 
from  supper,  and  laid  aside  his  (upper)  garments  and 
took  a  towel  and  girded  himself;  after  that,  he  poureth 
water  into  a  basin  and  began  to  wash  the  disciples'  feet, 
and  to  wipe  them  with  the  towel  wherewith  he  was 
girded."  He  acted  the  part  of  a  servant,  and  that  of 
the  lowest  servant  that  was  at  all  permitted  to  enter  the 
apartment.  How  soon  the  strife  for  preeminence 
must  have  ceased,  you  may  imagine  !  "  Then  cometh 
he  to  Simon  Peter;  and  Peter  saith  unto  him,  Lord, 
dost  thou  wash  imj  feet  ^  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  him.  What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou 
shall  know  hereafter.  Peter  saith  unto  him.  Thou  shall 
never  wash  my  feet,  Jesus  answered  him.  If  I  wash 
thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  in  me,"  —  playing  as  I  sup- 
pose upon  the  words,  as  though  he  was  saying.  You 
need  not  refuse  this  service  from  me,  for  you  must 
after  all  receive  it  in  a  still  higher  sense,  if  you  want  to 
belong  to  my  true  disciples.  "Simon  Peter,"  in  the 
ardor  of  his  feeling  ever  flying  from  extreme  to  ex- 
treme, "saith  unto  him:  Lord,  not  my  feet  only,  but 
also  my  hands  and  my  head;  "  —  another  specimen  of 
honest  but  ill-directed  effort  to  become  eminent  in  the 
family  of  Christ  by  aspiration,  he  wanted  to  be  more 
washed  than  the  rest.  But  Christ,  tempering  his 
untimely  zeal,  and  returning  to  the  literal  sense  of 
language,  replies  —  "He  that  is  washed,  needeth  not 
save  to  wash  his  feet,  then  he  is  clean  every  whit;" 


72  MEDITATIONS. 

i.  e.  he  that  has  washed  his  hands,  and  perhaps  his 
face  too,  on  entering  the  guest  chamber  (and  you  have 
done  so)  needeth  not  to  wash  these  again  ;  but,  if  he 
wishes  to  be  particularly  clean  and  comfortable  at  the 
repast,  he  may  get  his  feet  washed,  and  then  he  is 
sufficiently  clean  for  the  occasion,  be  it  ever  so  splen- 
did or  solemn.  Then,  again  returning  to  the  spiritual 
meaning  of  his  terms,  he  says,  hinting  at  Judas'  case, 
"Ye  are  clean,  but  not  all."  Then  he  puts  on  his 
dress  again  and  returned  to  his  seat  at  the  table, 
which  shows  once  more  that  the  supper  was  not 
finished  but  begun  merely.  The  application  of  this 
example  of  humility,  which  Christ  made  after  hav- 
ing resumed  his  place,  you  all  well  know.  I  do  not 
therefore  rehearse  it.  This  application  was  made  to 
the  case  in  hand  ;  but  it  was  recorded  also  for  the  pur- 
pose of  universal  imitation  throughout  the  church. 
But  it  is  a  hard  lesson.  How  many  a  pope,  patriarch, 
cardinal,  bishop,  and  priest  —  how  many  a  lord  bishop, 
how  many  a  doctor  of  divinity,  how  many  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  how  many  a  missionary,  how  many 
thousands  of  professed  disciples,  do  you  think,  will  be 
found  at  the  judgment  day  who  never  learned  or  prac- 
tised a  syllable  of  it  !  How  many  who  knew  it,  and 
admired  it,  and  talked  of  it,  and  wrote  about  it,  in  prose 
and  rhyme,  and  wept  over  its  inimitable  beauties  —  but 
never  followed  it;  how  many  of  such,  I  say,  will  be 
there  !  How  many  a  poor  beggar  will  be  there;  how 
many  a  poor  ignorant  old  woman;  how  many  a  child, 
unable  perhaps  to  read,  or  to  express  a  thought  cor- 
rectly, but  who  had  this  most  precious  lesson  in  their 
hearts,  and  showed  it  in  their  lives. 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  73 

"  With  them  numbered  may  wo  be, 
Here  and  in   eternity  !  " 

When  Jesus  had  thus  said,  he  was  troubled  in 
spirit,  and  testified  and  said  (John  xiii,  21,  22),  Verily, 
verily,  one  of  you  shall  betray  me.  Then  the  disciples 
looked  one  on  another,  doubting  of  whom  he  spake  : 
(Matt,  xxvi,  22.)  "And  they  were  exceedingly  sor- 
rowful, and  began  every  one  of  them  to  say  unto  him, 
Lord,  is  it  I  ?  And  he  answered  and  said,  He  that  dippeth 
his  hand  with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me." 
Here  Christ  does  not  intend  to  designate  the  very  per- 
son who  should  betray  him;  for  it  was  in  every  disciple's 
power  to  withhold  his  hand  from  dipping  with  Christ 
into  any  dish,  and  thus  to  escape  the  charge  of  treason. 

It  may  be   the    landlord  and  his  family  joined  with 
Christ  and  his  company  in   partaking  of   the  Paschal 
Iamb  ;   for  the  lamb  was  to  be  wholly  consumed  —  and 
thirteen  men,  who  expect  to  partake  of  a  supper  after- 
wards, would   not    think  of  consuming  a  whole   lamb. 
Or,  at  all  events,  the  landlord  and   some  of  his  male 
servants,  all  of  whom  probably  knew  Christ   and  were 
known    by  him,  must  have  been  about  the  table  when 
Christ  began  to  speak  of  the  treason  of  Judas.     What 
was  more  natural,  especially  if  they  were  disciples  in 
the  common  sense,  than  that  they  too  should  have  asked, 
Lord    is  it   I  ?     And  indeed,  such  a  suspicion  would 
much  rather  have  fallen  upon  the  master  of  the  house, 
or  his  people,  than  upon  the  nearer  disciples  of  Christ. 
The  object  of  Christ  in  giving  the  above  general  reply, 
seems  then  to  have  been  to  clear  the  family  from  that 
suspicion,  and  to  limit  it  to  the  twelve  disciples;  as  al- 
so the  evangelist   Mark   (ch.  xiv,  20)   paraphrases  it  ; 
7* 


74  MEDITATIONS. 

"  and  he  answered  and  said  unto  them,  It  is  one  of  the 
twelve  that  dippeth  with  me  in  the  dish."      To  dip  with 
one  into  the  dish  is  a  mere  proverbial  phrase  to  express 
the  relation  of  family  or  table  companionship.     This  is 
confirmed   by  the  evangelist  Luke,  (ch.  xxii,  21)  who 
expresses  the  same  idea  thus  :   "But  behold  the  hand 
of  him  that  betrayeth  me  is  with  me  on  the  table."     But 
Simon  Peter,  forward  and    impatient  as  ever,  and  also 
doubtless  anxious  for  himself,  was  not    to  be    put  off 
with  so  indefinite  an  answer,  which  indeed   so  far  as  it 
went  did  only  increase  his   apprehensions.     He  there- 
fore beckons  John,  (who  was  leaning  on  Jesus'  bosom, 
i.  e.  reclining  next  to,  and  in  front  of,    Christ)  to  ask, 
who  the   man  was,  of  whom   he   spake.     John    asks, 
"Lord,    who  is  it?"     (John   xiii.  26)    and   receives 
privately  the  definite    answer  :      "  He  it   is  to  whom  I 
shall  give  a  sop,  when  I  have  dipped  it;   and  when  he 
had  dipped  the  sop  he  gave  it  to  Judas  Iscariot,the  son 
of  Simon."     This  sign  was,  however,  intelligible  only 
to  John,  and  did  not  make   manifest  the  traitor   yet. 
Christ,  presiding   at  the  table,  was  then  probably  dis- 
tributing portions  among  his  disciples,  and  being  about 
to  give  Judas  his  share,  he  thus  made  him  known  pri- 
vately to  John.     Now  at  length  comes  the  question  of 
Judas  himself,  who  seems,  for  very  good  reasons,  to 
have  been  the  last  to  ask  it,  and  who  did  it  probably 
merely  to  avoid  suspicion.      For  had  he  asked  it  be- 
fore, there  would  have    been  no  need  of  the   question 
of  Peter  and  John.      (Matt.  xxvi.  25.)     Then  Judas, 
which  betrayed  him,  answered    and  said  :    Master,  is 
it  I  ?    He  said  unto  him  :  Thou  hast  said;"  (i.  e.  thou 
art  the  one.)     (John  xiii.  27.)     "And  after  the  sop, 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  15 

Sdtan  entered  into  him.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  him  : 
That  thou  doest  do  quickly.  Now  no  man  at  the  table 
knew  for  what  intent  he  spake  this  unto  him.  For 
some  of  them  thought,  because  Judas  had  the  bag, 
that  Jesus  had  said  unto  him.  Buy  those  things  that  we 
have  need  of  against  the  feast;  or  that  he  should  give 
something  to  the  poor.  He  then,  having  received  the 
sop,  went  immediately  out,  and  it  was  night." 

"And  it  was  night;"  a  night  black  and  gloomy  as  the 
deeds  it  was  to  bring  forth.     It  seems  as   though   the 
night  of  hell  had  been   poured  around  Judas    Iscariot, 
the  son  of  Simon,  to    shroud  the  brightness  of  the  full 
moon,  and    to  hide   him  with   his   infernal  designs  and 
works.    But  oh!  what  must  have  been  the  spiritual  dark- 
ness which  filled  his  heart  while  he  was  groping  along 
through  the   narrow  streets  to  work  out  his    own    ruin 
and  damnation,  and  fort.ver  to  sell  his  Saviour,  his  soul, 
and  his  Heaven  for  a  pocketful  of  dust  !  There  he  goes, 
away  from  Christ  and  over  to  Lucifer  and  Beelzebub, 
whose  son  he  was;    fleeing  from    the  first  communion- 
table ever  spread  on   earth,  to  the  reprobated  enemies 
of  God  and  of  his  anointed, —  away  from  Heaven  down 
to  the  lowest  hell.     But  let  him  go;   he  is  undone;   and 
not  to  be  reclaimed.     Jesus'  voice  and  love   prevailed 
not  over  him,   and   what  in  Heaven  or  on   earth  will? 
Let  us  return  to  the  upper  chamber;  there  is  no  night: 
there  is  no  darkness,  but    light   and    glory,     (vs.  31,) 
"  Therefore    when    he    was    gone    out,    Jesus     said. 
Now  is  the  Son  of  Man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified 
in  him.     If   God    be   glorified   in  him,  God  shall   also 
glorify  him  in  himself,   and   shall  straightway    glorify 
him.     Little  children,  yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you. 


76  MEDITATIONS.  « 

Ye    shall    see   me;    and,    as  I   said  to  the  Jews,  (feo 
might  I  also  say  to  you,  though  in  a  different  and  bet- 
ter sense)  whither    I   go  you  cannot    come.     A  new 
commandment   give    I   unto  you,  that  ye  should  love 
one  another  as  I  have  loved  you  ;   that  ye    also  love 
one  another."     That  is,  hitherto  you  have  endeavored 
to    love    your     neighbour   as    yourselves,    and    when 
you   did  so  much,  you   deemed   yourselves  as  having 
done    all,    and    indeed    you    had  done    all  which  was 
required  by  the  law.      But    now  comes  that  neiv  com- 
mandment, of  which  the  law  knows  nothing.     Hitherto 
lawful  self-love  was  the  standard  of  your  love  to  your 
brethren,  but  henceforth  you  will   receive  a  new  spirit 
and  a   new    commandment,    to  love  one  another   as  I 
have  loved  you  ;  my  love  to  you  will  now  he  the  standard 
of  your  love  to  each  othef;  and  while   none  of  you   will 
expect  any  brother  to  lay  down   his  life  for  him,   each 
will  be  ready  to  lay  down  his  life  for  all,  and  for  any 
who  knows  and  loves  me.     Then  follows  the  bold  pledge 
of  Peter,  to  lay  down   his  life  for  Christ,  and  the  pre 
diction  of  his  fall.     In  the  mean  time,  the  supper  was 
ended,  and  the  cup  of  blessing  which  belonged  to  the 
celebration  of  the   Paschal    feast    was   passed  round. 
Then  follows  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
of  the    new  Ditspensation.     This   order   of  events    is 
estimated  by  Luke,  who  speaks  of  two  cups  —  of  one 
before,  the  other  after  the  bread;  one  is  that  belonging 
to   the  Jewish    Dispensation,    the    Old    Testament ;  the 
other  is  the  cup  of  the  JYeiv  Testament  in  the  blood  of 
Christ,  '  a  sacrifice  of  nobler  name  and  richer  blood 
than  they.' 
During  the  celebratian  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  probably 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  77 

the  contents  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  St.  John  were 
delivered.  The  words,  "arise,  let  us  go  hence,"  which 
we  find  at  the  close  of  that  chapter,  seem  to  indicate 
that  by  that  time  Christ  begun  to  get  ready  to  pass  on 
to  Gethsemane.  The  hymn  of  thanksgiving  being  sung, 
they  arose  from  the  table.  Then,  while  the  disciples 
were  standing  about  him,  still  in  the  upper  room,  he 
continued  his  conversation  as  contained  in  John  xv  and 
xvi,  and  closed  the  solemnities  of  the  evening  by  the 
prayer  contained  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  the  same 
evangelist.  "  And  when  they  had  sung  an  hymn,"  says 
Matthew  and  Mark,  "they  went  out  into  the  mount  of 
Olives;"  and  he  came  out,"  says  Luke,  "and  went  as 
he  was  wont,  to  the  mount  of  Olives;  and  his  disciples 
also  followed  him."  "  When  Jesus  had  spoken  these 
words,"  says  John,  "  he  went  forth  with  his  disciples 
over  the  brook  Cedron  where  was  a  garden,  into  which 
he  entered  and  his  disciples." 

Thus  I  have  endeavored  to  sketch  and  arrange  the 
events  of  Thursday,  in  the  manner  which  appeared 
most  consistent  to  my  own  mind,  after  a  close  compari- 
son of  the  four  evangelists,  and  after  a  consultation 
of  the  best  means  within  my  reach,  which  indeed  are 
the  best  ones  now  existing.  I  have  had  occasion  to 
dissent  somewhat  from  either  of  my  helps;  but  I  have 
done  so  with  reasons  which  seemed  to  me  plainly  to 
outweigh  human  authority.  You  are  aware  that  ac- 
cording to  the  view  which  I  have  given,  Judas  the 
traitor  went  away  before  the  Lord's  Supper  was  cel- 
ebrated, which  is  the  most  important  point  in  which 
I  have  been  obliged  to  depart  from  some  of  those  of 
whose  labors  I  have  availed  myself.  I  have  had  no 
personal  interest  to  do  so,  but  rather  contrariwise. 


78  MEDITATIONS. 

I  should  now  like  to  have  as  much  time  again  for 
practical  remarks  as  we  have  spent  upon  the  devel- 
opment of  our  subject.  But  our  time  is  more  than 
expired  ;  and  I  feel  that  to  tax  your  patience  further 
would  be  more  than  what  I  am  entitled  to.  Take,  my 
friends,  this  meditation  as  it  is,  and  not  as  it  ought  to 
be.  Some  critical  remarks  which  crowded  themselves 
irresistibly  into  it,  have,  1  know,  done  much  injury  to 
its  warmth,  but  they  could  not  be  omitted. 

But  what  troubles  me  most  is,  that  I  have  so  much 
failed  to  set  forth  Christ  in  the  fullness  of  his  beauty 
and  love,  in  which  he  appears  through  the  whole  scene 
through  which  we  have  passed.  This  could,  however, 
not  have  been  done  without  an  analysis  of  all  he 
uttered  on  the  occasion,  and  this  must  needs  have 
occupied  days. 

But  let  me  not  turn  away  now  from  our  meditation 
without  paying  some  feeble  tribute  of  admiration  to 
him,  who  loved  his  own  that  were  in  the  world  even 
to  the  end.  He  knew  all  which  was  before  him. 
He  knew  that  he  had  seen  his  last  setting  sun;  he 
knew  this  was  his  last  night ;  he  knew  that  within  two 
or  three  hours  he  would  be  prostrated  in  the  dust  under 
the  weight  of  oi«r  guilt ;  and  be  in  the  far  most  discon- 
solate condition  in  which  ever  man  was  ;  he  knev/  that 
within  a  few  hours  he  should  be  dra^sed  and  hurried 
back  by  the  very  path  and  through  the  very  gate  by 
which  he  was  about  to  go  over  to  the  mount  of  Olives; 
he  knew  that  during  the  night  he  should  be  forsaken  of 
all  his  disciples,  be  pulled  and  thrust  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  calumniated,  mocked,  spit  upon, 
whipped,   and  scourged;   he  knew  that,  ere   the    sun 


THE    GREAT    PASSOVER.  79 

should  reach  his  meridian  height,  again  he  should  pass 
through  the  opposite  gate,  to  be  nailed  to  the  accursed 
tree;   he    knew   that   before    another    evening   should 
come,  he  would  lie  in  the    cold    grave;     and    still   he 
seeks  consolation  from  his  friends,  he  makes  no  efforts 
to  excuse  their  sympathies.     Nay,  he  pities   and  com- 
forts them,  he  prays  with  them  and  for  them,  that  their 
faith  might  not  cease;   and  he  labors   for  their  good  to 
his  last  breath,  until  the  "  sorrows  of  death '^  and  the 
"  pains  of  hell"  gat  hold  upon  him,  —  no  otherwise  than 
if  he  was  to  prepare  iliem,  and  not  himself ,  for  death. 
Still  more:  he  provides  for  the  comfort  and  consolation 
of  his  dear  flock  through  all   future   times,  and  leaves 
them  an  inexhaustible   legacy  in  the  feast  of  his  dying 
love,   in   the  sure  promise  of  that    eternal   Comforter 
whom  he  was  to  send;     and  in  the   unfailing  prospect 
of  his  personal  return  to  gather  all  his   beloved    unto 
himself,  that  they  might  be  where  he  is,  and  forever 
behold  and  share  his  glory.    Does  not  this  picture  bear 
the  seal  of  Heaven  .''     Will  any  one  sayi  t  is  earthly, 
and  has  sprung  up  in  the  heart  of  selfish  man  ?     Does 
it  not  Jloiv  doivn  with  the  tender  mercies  of  God  } 

May  he  who  was  comforting  his  friends  and  praying 
for  his  foes  when  they  were  in  the  strength  of  life  and 
health,  and  he  in  the  agonies  of  death  —  may  he  comfort 
us  from  the  throne  of  his  glory,  and  plead  our  cause 
upon  the  mercy-seat,  when  we  are  gasping  in  death, 
and  our  souls  take  their  flight  from  this  world  to  return 
no  more.     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS 


IV. 


CHRIST  IN  GETHSEMANE. 


MATTHEW  XXVI,  30  —  44. 

And  when  they  Jiad  sung  an  liymn,  they  went  out  into  the  mount  of  Olives. 
Tlien  saith  Jesus  unto  them,  All  ye  shall  be  offended  because  of  me  this  night: 
for  it  is  written,  I  will  smite  the  Shepherd,  and  the  sheep  of  the  fliock  shall  be 
scattered  abroad.  But  after  I  am  risen  again,  I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee. 
Peter  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Though  all  men  shall  be  offended  because  of 
thee,  yet  will  I  never  be  offended.  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee, 
That  this  night,  before  the  cock  crow  [twice,  —  Mark]  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice. 
Peter  said  unto  him.  Though  I  should  die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee. 
Likewise  also  said  all  the  disciples.  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them_  unto  a  place 
called  Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  and  pray 
yonder.  And  he  took  with  him  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Ztbedee,  and  began  to 
be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy.  Then  saith  he  unto  them.  My  soul  is  exceeding 
sorrowful,  even  unto  death  :  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he  went  a 
little  farther,  [about  a  stone's  cast,  —  Luke  xxii,  41]  and  fell  on  his  face,  and 
prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me;  never- 
theless, not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt.  And  he  cometh  unto  the  disciples,  and 
findeth  them  asleep,  and  saith  unto  Peter,  What,  could  ye  not  watch  with  me 
one  hour  ?  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  temptation  ;  the  spirit  indeed 
is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak.  He  went  away  again  the  second  time,  and 
prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I 
drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.  And  he  came  and  found  them  asleep  again  ;  for  their 
eyes  were  heavy,  [neither  wist  they  what  to  answer  him — Mark  xiv,  40.]  And 
he  left  them,  and  went  away  again,  and  prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  same 

8 


82  MEDITATIONS. 

words. Luke  xxii,  43  —  45.     And  there  appeared  an  angel  unlo  him  from 

Heaven,  strengthening  him.  And  being  in  an  agony,  he  prayed  more  earnestly  ; 
and  his  sweat  was  as  it  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground. 
And  when  he  rose  up  from  prayer,  and  was  come  to  his  discijdes,  he  found  them 

sleeping  for  sorrow Mark  xiv.  41,4-2     And   (he)  saith    unto  them,  (will 

you)  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your  restf?);  it  is  enough,  the  hour  is  come  j 
behold,  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  liands  of  sinners.  Rise  up;  let  us 
go:  lo,  he  that  betrayeth  me  is  at  hand. 


In  our  last  meditation  on  that  general  subject  of 
which  we  have  now  so  solemn  a  part  before  us,  we 
left  Christ  and  his  eleven  disciples  on  their  way  to 
Gethsemane,  after  the  solemnities  of  the  Passover  and 
the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  were  finished.  It 
was  now  necessarily  late,  and  to  return  to  Bethany 
across  the  mount  of  Olives  would  probably  have  been 
quite  inexpedient,  even  if  Christ  had  wished  so  to  do. 
At  the  house  where  the  solemnities  were  attended  to, 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  room  to  spend  the  night, 
at  which  circumstance  we  shall  not  wonder,  if  we  call 
to  mind  the  multitude  of  strangers  which  were  now 
gathered  in  the  city  in  consequence  of  the  feast. 
Gethsemane  was  a  kind  of  garden  at  the  foot  of  mount 
Olives,  set  with  olive  trees,  as  it  would  seem,  and  fur- 
nished with  an  oil-press,  which  gave  the  place  its  name. 
After  passing  that  gate  of  the  city  which  lies  nearest 
to  the  temple  and  the  bridge  of  Cedron,  to  which  the 
road  descended  in  the  direction  towards  Bethany, 
Gethsemane  was  quite  at  hand,  and  only  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  few  steps  to  the  left.  Christ  seems  to  have 
been  acquainted  with  the  family  on  the  farm,  and  he 
probably  was  in  the  habit  of  spending  his  nights  there, 
whenever  it  was  too  late  to  return  to  his  pious  friends 
at  Bethany.     For  Luke  says  that  ''  he  went,  as  he  was 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  83 

wont,  to  the  mount  of  Olives;"  and  the  evangelist 
John  says  that  "  Jesus  o/Ven/imes  resorted  thither  with 
his  disciples."  It  was,  however,  not  a  public  or  much 
frequented  place;  for  John  remarks,  that  Judas,  which 
betrayed  him,  knew  the  place  :  which  implies  that  it 
was  not  generallij  known  to  be  one  of  the  resting- 
places  of  our  Lord,  or  even  much  noticed  by  people  at 
large.  It  may  have  been  a  poor,  pious  family,  or  per- 
haps a  single,  plain,  and  godly  keeper  of  the  garden, 
that  resided  there ;  and  poverty  and  piety  have  always 
been  sufficient  to  withdraw  men  from  the  notice  and 
regard  of  the  world.  Even  at  this  season,  when  all 
tolerably  furnished  houses  in  and  about  Jerusalem 
must  needs  have  been  filled  to  overflowing,  Geth- 
semane  appears  as  a  deserted  and  solitary  spot. 

It  seems  probable,  too,  that  whenever  Christ  resorted 
to  this  place,  he  expected  to  spend  his  night  in  the 
ojjen  air,  slumbering  with  his  disciples,  under  the  ti^ees 
or  on  some  seat  or  bench  about  the  humble  dwelling, 
as  though  this  was  a  more  eligible  couch  than  could 
be  expected  in  the  house  itself  For  none  of  his  disci' 
pies  even  suggests  the  idea  of  calling  the  inmates  up, 
though  this  must  have  appeared  to  them  desirable,  as 
they  could  not  possibly  be  ignorant  of  some  approaching 
danger,  after  all  the  solemn  preparations  which  their 
Lord  had  made  for  his  separation  from  them.  Swords 
they  had  provided  against  their  Master's  will  ;  but  to 
get  into  a  safe  dwelling  in  the  garden  does  not  occur 
to  them :  an  evidence  that  there  was  none  there, 
"The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  had  not  where  to  lay  hig 
head." 


84  MEDITATIONS.  ^ 

Neither  the  high  priest,  nor  even  his  servants,  nor 
any  of  the  self-mortifying  pharisees  seem  to  have  so 
much  as  known  that  place  where  Christ  "  oftenlimes^' 
took  his  night's  rest  on  the  ground,  after  a  day  of  hard 
labor  performed,  and  of  still  harder  rebuke  and  wrong 
suffered.  And  thus  it  often  afterwards  happened,  that 
the  most  precious  and  lovely  of  God's  children  lodged 
and  worshipped  in  caves  and  forests,  unvisited  by  and 
unknown  to  their  persecuting  enemies  in  high  and  sacred 
office,  except  when  infernal  fury  goaded  them  on  to  ex- 
plore those  uneviable  abodes,  in  order  to  draw  out  godly 
men  and  women  and  innocent  children  to  torture  and 
death.  But  now  those  suffering  saints  are  in  Heaven 
with  Christ;  and  their  infuriated  enemies,  that  were 
mightier  than  they,  are  with  Annas  and  Caiphas  in 
hell.  To  this  place  he  resorted  now  for  the  last  time. 
Let  us,  my  dear  friends,  accompany  him.  Our  respec- 
tive personal  cases,  our  personal,  eternal  destinies,  are 
eternally  interwoven  with  its  scene,  a  scene  to  which 
I  can  find  no  epithet  — surely  our  hearts  ought  to  be  no 
strangers  to  it.  Would  I  could  lead  you  now  into  the 
very  place,  instead  of  endeavoring  to  recall  its  unpar- 
alleled events  in  unfit  words  and  fleeting  sounds.  It 
would  be  better  for  us  all,  perhaps,  to  stand  around 
the  sacred  place  in  silence,  and  see  what  never  man 
saw  and  hear  what  never  man  heard,  than  to  listen  to 
the  united  harmony  of  Heaven,  or  to  view  at  one  glance 
from  the  mount  of  Patmos  the  golden  streets  and  pearly 
gates  of  New  Jerusalem. 

But  let  us  lose  no  time.  We  will  attend  to  our  sub- 
ject as  well  as  we  can.  May  we  be  blessed  to-day  with 
a  solemn  and  humble  frame  of  mind  ;  may  we  be 
enabled  to   put  off  our   shoes,  for  the    ground  upon 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  85 

which  we  stand,  is  holy  ground:  and  may  I  be  enabled 
to  speak,  not  with  the  intelligence,  power  and  elo- 
quence of  a  superior  spirit,  (for  this  would  render  me 
no  more  fit  to  do  justice  to  the  subject,  than  lam  now) 
but  with  the  feelings  of  a  poor,  pardoned,  believing 
sinner,  who  knows  nothing  but  Christ  and  his  cross. 
I  propose  to  divide  the  subject  of  our  meditation 
into  four  parts  : 

I.  Christ's  agony  in  the  garden. 

II.  His   utter  destitution  of  all    human  comfort  and 
support. 

III.  His  entire  subjection  to  his  Father's  will. 

IV.  His  heavenly  consolations. 

I.  Many  curious  and  not  a  few  profane  inquiries 
have  been  made  with  regard  to  the  topic  now  before  us. 
What  was  the  cause  of  the  anxiety  and  distress  which 
Jesus  manifested  in  the  garden  ?  Was  it  mere  appre- 
hension of  what  he  knew  w^s  about  to  burst  upon  him  .'* 
But  if  he  knew  his  approaching  sufferings,  certainly 
he  knew,  too,  "  the  glory  which  should  follow;"  he  was 
sure  of  victory.  Could  he  who  had,  for  thirty  years 
and  more,  forgone  the  very  glories  of  Heaven,  and 
borne  not  the  usual,  but  the  most  unusual  inconvenien- 
ces of  this  miserable  world,  could  he  experience  such 
misgivings  at  that  catastrophe  which,  though  dreadful 
in  the  extreme,  was  the  very  one  which  was  to  work 
the  peace  of  this  world  and  open  to  him  the  high  gates 
and  the  "  everlasting  doors"  of  his  endless  and  univer- 
sal reign  ?  True  it  may  be  said,  stoicism  had  not 
destroyed  his  natural  sensibilities  ;  fanaticism  had  not 
inflamed  his  imagination  nor  sundered  the  mysterious 
8* 


SB  MEDITATIONS. 

ties  nor  destroyed  the  mutual  sympathies  of  body  and 
soul  in  him;  quietism  had  not  wrapt  him  away  from  the 
world  of  realities  into  that  wide,  lifeless,  breathless 
desert  of  moral  enchantment,  where  all  natural  and 
moral  distinctions  pretend  to  vanish  :  true,  that  mad- 
ness, which  men  call  bravery,  was  of  all  things  the  far- 
thest from  him  ;  and  all  the  selfish  motives  by  which 
common  wicked  men  are  borne  on  in  the  closest  en- 
counter of  perils,  sufferings,  and  death,  in  every  imag- 
inable form,  could  be  no  support  to  him  who  was  holy 
and  harmless  and  separate  from  sinners:  and  we  will 
even  grant  that  he  was  either  not  permitted  or  did  not 
choose  to  call  forth  the  energies  of  his  divine  nature, 
to  sustain  him  in  his  dreadful  contest,  but  that  he  en- 
countered it  purely  with  the  powers  of  his  holy  human- 
ity. To  this  concession,  indeed,  we  are  driven  by  the 
fact  that  an  angel,  a  created  being  was  sent  to  comfort 
and  strengthen  him.  And  v/e  will  grant,  too,  that  the 
Christian  martyrs,  who  in  after  times  showed  so  much 
courage,  were  in  a  very  different  aad  far  better  situa- 
tion than  he  :  they  had  a  Saviour  in  Heaven,  and  a 
special  Comforter  sent  into  their  hearts  by  their  risen, 
ascended,  and  omnipotent  Redeemer,  while  "  the  man 
Jesus  Christ"  in  Gethsemane  feels  himself  solitary. 
Nevertheless,  if  mere  bodily  sufferings  at  hand  dis- 
tressed him  so  much,  where,  we  ask,  is  the  unconquer- 
able fortitude  of  this  superior  person  .''  Where  is  the 
advantage  of  a  calm  and  peaceful  mind  such  as  he  pos- 
sessed ?  Where  are  the  consolations  of  a  pure  and  holy 
conscience?  where  the  comforts  of  untarnished  piety .-^ 
where  the  secret  communications  of  the  divine  favor.** 
and  where  the  power  of  faith,  and  of  prayer  unremit- 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  87 

ted?  Was  their  combined  influence  unable  to  support 
him  at  the  approach  of  transitory  bodily  sufferings, 
though  their  degree  be  ever  so  great  ?  Verily,  there 
is  something  more  here  than  the  apprehension  of 
bodily  pain  and  death,  be  it  what  it  may. 

"  Search  the  Scriptures,"  saith  the  Lord;  "  they  tes- 
tify of  me." 

Already  in  the  Old  Dispensation  the  laying  on  of  the 
sinner's  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  sacrifice  which  was 
to  be  offered  in  his  place,  and  the  laying  on  of  Israel's 
sins  upon  the  scape-goat,. were  evidently  calculated  to 
awaken  and  to  cherish  the  impression  of  a  translation 
of  sin.  The  very  words  which  the  Scriptures  use  on 
those  occasions  express  the  idea,  and  could  make  no 
other  impression  upon  a  plain,  untutored  people  who 
were  unable  to  correct  the  blunders  or  the  daring  lan- 
guage of  the  Bible  by  the  abstract  principles  of  their 
moral  philosophy,  — as  the -wise  men  of  our  age  are 
doing.  Men  find  it  very  hard,  I  know,  to  understand 
how  sin  should  be  transferred.  But  whether  it  be  any  ea- 
sier to  understand  how  sin  being  untransf erred,  the  sinner 
should  be  treated  like  a  righteous  man,  because  the 
righteous  man  was  treated  like  a  sinner  on  his  account, 

—  and  that  under  Vi.  perfect  moral  government  —  I  leave 
them  to  judge.  But,  after  all,  "  why  should  it  be 
thought  a  thing  incredible  with  you"  that  sin  should  be 
transferred  —  with  you  who  acknowledge  with  one 
consent  that  a  single  word  uttered  before  the  judge,  or 
one  stroke  of  the  pen  may  make  one  man  surety  for 
another,  and  thus  transfer  a  peculiar  debt  from  one  in- 
dividual to  another  to  all  essential  intents  and  purposes, 

—  a  debt  which  the  other  individual   never  incurrred, 


88  MEDITATIONS. 

nor  had  any  connection  with  whatever  ?  Whence  all 
at  once  the  impossibility  of  such  a  transfer,  merely  be- 
cause the  debt  is  a  moral  and  not  a  pecuniary  one  ?  If 
one  debt  may  conceivably  be  transferred  as  well  as 
another,  is  it  not  really  seeking  difficulties  where  there 
are  none,  to  say  that  '  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous  '  was 
merely  treated  by  God  like  a  sinner,  without  a  transfer 
of  our  guilt  to  him,  and  not  rather  07i  account  of  it,  and 
after  it  ?  Who  has  ever  heard  of  a  man's  going  to 
prison  for  the  debts  of  another,  without  having  pre- 
viously recognized  those  debts  as  his  own  ?  The  whole 
scheme  of  sacrifices  speaks  of  a  transfer  of  sin,  and  an 
exchange  of  places  before  the  bar  of  God,  in  favor  of 
believing  sinners,  —  and  what  the  sacrifices  shadoived 
forth  becomes  reality  in  Christ.  Our  sins  are  his  —  his 
righteousness  is  ours  —  if  we  believe.  Taking  this  view 
of  the  subject,  we  shall  find  a  difficult  verse  in  Psalms 
Ixix  rendered  plain.  This  Psalm  is  a  Messiah  prophesy. 
Christ  has  repeatedly  quoted  it,  and  applied  it  to  him- 
self The  fifth  verse  of  it  reads  thus  :  "  O  God,  thou 
knowest  my  foolishness;  and  my  sins  are  not  hid  from 
thee;" — a  troublesome  passage  !  The  word  "  foolish- 
ness" (nSyt^)  means,  in  the  actual  connection,  sins  of 
ignorance,  at  the  mildest;  and  the  word  "  sins"(  niDli'X) 
expresses  positive  transgressions,  real  guilt.  To  shift 
off  this  verse  from  Christ  upon  another  subject,  is  im- 
possible without  doing  violence  to  the  sacred  text  ; 
while  no  figure  of  speech  will  soften  these  expressions 
so  as  to  make  them  predicable  of  anything  in  the  cha- 
racter or  life  of  Christ.  Christ  had  sins,  then,  which 
he  called  his  own.  And  whose  could  they  originally 
have  been  —  since    he    was  ever  sinless  —  but  owr«  ? 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  89 

They  were  ours  —  now  they  are  his;  —  of  course  they 
were  transferred,  like  a  debt, — and  their  payment  now 
demanded  from  him,  occasions  him  the  anguish  predict- 
ed in  our  Psalm,  and  fulfilled  in  our  text.  Of  similar 
import,  probably,  is  Ps.  xl,  12.  On  2  Cor.  v.  21,  we 
read,  "  for  he  (i.  e.  God)  hath  him  (Christ)  to  be  sin 
for  us,  who  knew  no  sin;  that  we  might  be  made  the 
righteousness  of  God  in  him."  To  take  "  sin"  as 
meaning  sin-offering,  would  be  destroying  the  relation 
of  the  term  "  sin"  to  the  opposite  term  "  righteousness 
of  God."  The  import  is  strictly  this.  God  made 
Christ  a  sinner  for  us,  that  we  might  become  divinely 
righteous  in  him;  just  as  the  judge  pronounces  the 
surety  to  be  the  real  debtor  of  the  sum  in  question,  while 
the  real  contractor  of  the  debt  is  rf?a%  released.  What 
language  can  be  stronger?  what  thought  more  com- 
fortable to  a  believing  sinner?  To  adduce  but  one  pas- 
sage more  of  this  kind.  Gal.  iii,  13,  it  is  said,  "  Christ 
hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being 
made  a  curse  for  ws;  "  everywhere  an  exchange  of 
character  and  place  at  the  bar  of  Heaven,  and  not 
merely  of  sentence,  or  fate.  The  language  of  Scrip- 
ture is  too  powerful  to  admit  of  such  a  superficial  view; 
and  one  which,  in  my  estimation,  is  beset  with  many 
and  real  difficulties.  Again,  the  apostle  in  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  v.  7,  says  that  Christ,  "in  the  days 
of  his  flesh,  when  he  had  offered  up  prayers  and  sup- 
plications with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him  that 
was  able  to  save  himjrom  death,  washeard.'^  Whether 
this  passage  refers  to  Christ's  sufferings  in  the  garden 
exclusively ,  or  only  by  way  of  eminence,  is  immaterial 
to  us  now.     According  to  it,  he  was  heard  by  him  that 


90  MEDITATIONS. 

was  able  to  save  him  from  death.  Yet,  from  bodily 
death,  he  neither  was  saved,  nor  did  he  choose  or 
ask  to  be.  From  what  death,  then,  was  he  saved  ? 
Let  the  Psalmist  reply: —  "  Thou  hast  delivered  my 
soul  from  death,"  Or  if  you  want  the  most  di- 
rect ansv.er,  here  it  is:  —  "  The  king  shall  joy  in  thy 
strength,  O  Lord,  and  in  thy  salvation  shall  he  greatly 
rejoice  !  Thou  hast  given  him  his  heart's  desire,  and 
hast  not  withholden  the  request  of  his  lips,  Selah.  He 
asked  life  of  thee,  and  thou  gavest  it  him,  even 
length  of  days  for  ever  and  ever."  According  to  these 
passages,  was  saved  from  the  death  of  the  soul  the  se- 
cond death,  the  terrors  of  which  must  therefore  have 
stood  in  threatening  array  about  him  during  some  period 
of  his  sufferings;  and  as  that  deliverance  was  the  effect 
of  his  strong  crying  and  supplication  to  God,  what 
period,  I  ask,  answers  this  description  better  than  the 
awful  hour  of  darkness  and  terror  in  Gethsemane  } 
Nor  is  this  a  matter  of  mere  speculation,  or  unhal- 
lowed, curious  inquiry.  Were  this  the  case,  I  should 
never  have  touched  upon  it.  No,  it  has  its  profound, 
practical  interest.  In  Heb.  iv,  15,  the  apostle  gives 
us  the  consolation,  and  every  Christian  feels  its  pre- 
ciousne^s,  that  we  have  an  high  priest  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  who  "  was  in  all  points  tempted  (exer- 
cised) like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin,"  i.  e.  without 
committing  any  sin.  And  the  same  apostle  assures 
us  —  and  every  Christian  feels  its  truth  —  that  we 
needed  such  an  high  priest.  But  where  is  the  one  of 
all  the  "  points,"  where  the  period,  what  the  condition, 
in  which  we  need  the  experienced  sympathies  of  our 
great  high   priest  more  than  when  our  sins  rush  upon 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  91 

US  like  destruction  from  the  Almighty,  and  when  our 
very  souls  are  swallowed  up,  almost,  by  the  terrors  of 
the  second  death  !  Oh,  if  he  did  not  know  how  to  sym- 
pathize with  us  then,  he  could  not  have  been  said  to 
to  be  tempted  in  all  points,  —  no,  not  in  the  most  es- 
sential point,  —  like  as  we  are,  and  we  should  want 
another  high  priest  besides  him  stilL 

What,  then,  was  the  agony  of  Christ  in  the  garden? 
We  may  now  venture  a  reply,  though  the  full  view  of 
the  subject  the  Lord  will  doubtless  give  us  himself,  in 
the  other  world.  First  ;  our  Lord's  agony  in  the  gar- 
den included  as  much  of  that  mental  distress  which  the 
sins  of  our  race  would  have  brought  upon  their  con- 
sciences, when  awakened  and  tender,  as  divine  justice 
required,  as  an  equivalent  payment  from  a  personage 
so  eminent  as  Christ  was,  an  ordeal  which  rendered 
him  at  the  same  time  iniinitely  more  than  equally  expe- 
rienced with  the  most  tried  and  tempted  of  his  followers 
upon  earth.  No  infernal  torments  need  to  be  included, 
since  his  divine  character  would  outweigh  worlds  both 
in  degree  and  duration,  and  since  he  never  intended 
to  sympathize  with  those  in  hell.  That  Satan  also 
made  his  last  and  most  desperate  assault  upon  him, 
I  unhesitatingly  admit.  What  Christian  is  there,  that 
has  gone  through  the  dreadful  hour  of  conviction,  and 
that  does  not  know  what  a  hailstorm  of  fiery  darts  of 
unbelief,  despair  and  blasphemy  Satan  hurls  into  the 
distracted  soul,  and  what  desperate  efforts  he  makes  to 
seal  her  damnation  at  that  eventful  and  decisive  period? 
And  that  he  tried  his  utmost  in  his  assaults  upon  Christ, 
who  that  knows  him  will  ever  doubt?  But  secondly  ;  all 
this  anguish  was  still  heightened  by  the  apprehension  of 


92  MEDITATIONS. 

hig  approaching  death,  and  by  many  aggravating  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  it.  This  is  plain  from  his 
own  words  when  he  comes  to  his  disciples  the  last  time. 
"Will  you  sleep  on  now  and  take  your  rest  ?  It  is 
enough;  the  hour  is  come;  behold,  the  Son  of  Man  is 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners.  Rise  up  !  Let 
us  go  !  Lo,  he  that  betrayeth  me  is  at  hand."  Says 
the  pious  Henry,  ''  He  had  a  full  and  clear  prospect  of 
all  the  sufferings  that  were  before  him.  He  foresaw 
the  treachery  of  Judas,  the  Unkindness  of  Peter,  the 
malice  of  the  Jews  and  their  base  ingratitude.  He 
knew  that  he  should  now  in  a  few  hours  be  scourged, 
spit  upon,  crowned  with  thorns,  nailed  to  the  cross; 
Death,  in  its  most  dreadful  appearances  —  death,  in 
pomp,  attended  with  all  its  terrors,  —  looked  him  in  the 
face." 

Thus  far  we  have  spoken  of  the  nature  of  Christ's 
agony;  before  we  dismiss  this  part  of  our  subject,  let 
us  look  for  a  few  moments  at  its  intensity.  The  evan- 
gelists evidently  wrote  in  the  clearest  frame  of  mind, 
and  are  nothing  but  sober  narrators  of  their  facts, 
even  in  this  and  similar  instances.  Yet  the  terms  they 
here  use  are  of  great  emphasis,  and  the  picture  which 
they  draw  is  full  of  gloom.  Christ  no  sooner  comes  to 
the  garden,  than  he  takes  his  three  more  confidential 
disciples,  separates  himself  from  the  rest,  and  begins 
to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy  (j]o|«7o  Xvneiudui  xul 
adijuovnt'^ ;  he  became  overwhelmed  and  distracted  with 
distress.  These  two  words  in  the  original  text,  of 
which  the  latter  is  more  emphatic  than  the  former  so 
as  to  make  a  climax,  are  joined  for  the  sake  of  empha- 
sis to  express  one  thought  together,  for  the  expression 
of  which  either  w*ord  alone  would  have  been  too  weak. 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEIMANE.  93 

This  condition  of  our  Lord  the  disciples  first  inferred 
from  his  appearance,  but  soon  out  of  the  abundance  of 
his  depressed  heart  his  mouth  spoke.  Unable  to  bear 
it  any  longer  alone,  he  said  unto  them,  "  My  soul"  — 
this  word,  and  sorne  other  like  ones,  pass  among  our 
critics  for  a  mere  personal  pronoun  even  to  this  day; 
while  every  instance  that  I  can  recall  shows  that  they 
are  employed  foi- the  sake  of  emphasis  —  "My  soul," 
my  very  soul  (as  we  should  say)  "  is  exceeding  sorrow* 
ful,"  (n:sQ[luno^^  surrounded  with  sorrow,  "  even  unto 
death."  Stronger  expressions  than  these  do  not  exist  in 
language,  and  exaggeration  is  out  of  the  question  here. 
Then,  seeing  them  weary  and  sleepy,  he  adds,  "Tarry 
here,"  do  hot  return  to  the  others  to  sleep;  watch  with 
me  !  His  strength  was  spent,  and  for  the  first  time  he 
felt  the  need  of  human  sympathy.  But  soon  finding 
even  their  company  burdensome)  he  tears  himself  away 
fropfi  thenijj  about  a  stone's  cast,  to  pray  alone.  Then 
he  assumes  the  attitude  of  deepest  distress;  he  falls 
"on  his  face"  and  pours  out  his  soul.  Submission  he 
finds  in  his  heart  while  praying,  but  relief  he  finds  none. 
Distressed  he  returns  to  his  disciples,  and  "  findeth 
them  asleep."  And  he  saith  unto  Peter  "What!"  you 
have  made  such  professions  of  attachment  to  me;  you 
wanted  to  die  for  me ;  '  'could  you  not  watch  with  me  one 
hour?"  Alas  !  he  pleads  for  one  hour's  sympathy  and 
assistance  from  his  weak  and  drowsy  followers.  O!  how 
destitute  must  be  have  felt  himself!  He  goes  the  second 
time  to  pray  alone,  and  finds  no.  relief ;  he  returns  the 
second  time  to  his  disciples,  and  finds  no  sympathy. 
Human  relief  fails ;  God  remains  his  last  hope. 
Tearing  away. Qnce, more,  he  prostrates  himself  again, 
9 


94  MEDITATIONS. 

(comp.  Luke  xxii:  45.  /cat  dcvagag  k.  t.  I.)  and  now  the 
most  awful  struggle  for  life  begins.  And  being  in  an 
agony,  he  prayed  more  earnestly;  and  in  the  cool  night 
season,  while  prostrated  on  the  damp  ground,  the  sweat 
of  anguish  breaks  out  over  his  whole  body,  and  is,  as  it 
were,  great  drops  of  blood  falling  down  to  the  ground. 
**And  there  appeared  an  angel  unto  him  from  Heaven, 
strengthening  him."  Such  then  was  his  frame  of  mind 
that  no  ordinary  means  did  suffice  to  relieve  him;  an 
angel  with  an  express  message  and  peculiar  assur- 
ances must  be  sent.  High  and  distinguished  honor 
indeed,  to  be  the  bearer  of  this  errand,  —  an  errand 
before  unheard  of  in  Heaven  !  But  can  you  think  of 
anything  more  fit  to  impress  us  with  ideas  of  the  most 
awful,  I  had  almost  said  unnatural  distress,  than  the 
need  of  a  messenger  from  Heaven  to  comfort  and 
strengthen  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  lest  his  distress 
should  crush  him? — But  we  must  hasten  to  our 
second  topic. 

II.  I  have  already  and  necessarily  anticipated  so 
much  of  the  three  remaining  topics  of  our  meditation, 
that  I  may  hope  to  study  more  brevity  in  remarking 
upon  them,  than  I  have  been  able  to  do  thus  far. 

There  is  doubtless  something  very  strange  in  the 
conduct  of  the  disciples  on  this  occasion.  Eleven 
pious  and  tender-hearted,  active,  self-denying  men 
profoundly  asleep,  while  their  beloved  master,  for 
whom  they  were  willing  to  lay  down  their  lives,  is  dis- 
tracted with  sorrow  and  writhing  under  the  agonies  of 
death  !  For  aught  that  appears,  there  is  no  plea  to  be 
urged  in  their  behalf.     They  had  not  been  obliged  to 


CHRIST    IN     GETHSEMANE.  95 

watch  the  previous  nights;  they  had  not  been  fatigued 
during  the  week  past;  all  the  preceding  day  they  were 
with  Christ  at  Bethany,  except  those  who  ordered  the 
Passover  to  be  prepared.  They  had  just  gone  through 
scenes  which  ought  to  have  stirred  at  least  all  the  nat- 
ural  powers  and  sensibilities  of  their  minds.  They  had 
just  celebrated  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  bondage, 
a  solemnity  which  kept  many  of  the  Jews  up  all  night; 
their  hearts  must  have  been  deeply  affected  with  the 
humbling  example  which  Christ  gave  theni  in  washing 
their  feet,  while  they  were  quarrelling  for  pre-eminence ; 
deep  anxiety  had  taken  hold  on  them  when  they  heard 
that  one  of  them  should  betray  Christ;  they  had  just 
attended  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  had 
listened  to  his  last  affecting  discourses,  his  last  prayer, 
his  repeated  admonitions  to  watch;  they  had  been  re- 
peatedly told  that  they  would  all  flee  and  forsake  their 
master  this  very  night,  and  be  offended  because  of 
him;  Peter  had  heard  that  he  would  betray  him  three 
times  before  morning;  they  knew  that  this  night  some 
important  and  dismal  prophecies  should  be  fulfilled, 
and  that  Christ  should  be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of 
sinners  and  be  put  to  death;  they  knew  that  the  traitor 
was  gone  already  to  his  infernal  work;  and  when  they 
came  to  Gethsemane  they  saw  their  master's  distress 
of  mind,  and  Peter,  John  and  James  heard  his  press- 
ing entreaty,  —  could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour! 
And  is  it  possible,  we  are  obliged  to  ask,  that  they 
could  sleep  .''  Was  it  naturally  possible  for  them, 
under  such  circumstances,  to  shut  their  eyes,  and 
to  procure  that  calmness  of  mind  so  indispensable 
for  a  night's  rest,  especially  in  the  open  air  and  on 


96  ■ 'meditations. 

the  hard  ground?  It  is  a  fact  that  they  did  sleep,  and 
that  no  combination  of  the  most  rousing  and  alarming 
circumstances  could  keep  them  awake. 

No  doubt,  it  was  intended  by  a  holy  providence  and 
was  one  of  the  burdens  which  Christ  had  to  bear  for 
lis,  that  he  suffered,  destitute  of  all  hurtian  consolation. 
It  does  seem  as  though  the  disciples  had  been  providen- 
tially given  up  to  the  most  stupefying  influence  of  this 
body  of  clay,  to  disable  them  to  afford  relief  to  their 
master,  when  the  unmingled  cup  of  suffering  was  to  be 
drunk  to  the  bottom. 

Jesus  our  Saviour,  in  this  destitute  and  needy  condi- 
tion, is  an  object  of  the  deepest  interest  and  of  liveliest 
gratitude  to  those  who  know  the  secret  ways  of  God 
with' his  children.  They  know  that  every  particular 
sacrifice  and  deprivation  of  Christ  is  like  a  sown  seed, 
from  which  rich  and  waving  harvests  of  spiritual  con- 
solation are  continually  springing  up  to  the  dear  little 
flock  of  his  pasture.  Not  a  prayer,  not  a  sigh,  not  a 
tear  of  his,  but  it  procures  for  them  some  heavenly 
treat;  and  his  fastings  and  deprivations,  his  watchful- 
ness, weariness  and  exposures  are  richly  decking  their 
spiritual  table,  and  draw  the  curtain  of  heavenly  peace 
around  the  defenceless  pillows  of  their  rest.  And 
when  in  the  depth  of  anguish  they  feel  the  soothing 
influences  of  Christian  tenderness  and  sympathy, 
and  are  upheld  by  the  wrestling  intercessions  of  their 
beloved  in  Christ  Jesus,  when  they  are  carried  safely 
through  the  trying  hour  of  darkness  and  distress  by  the 
iuithful  prayers  of  their  watchful  friends,  poured  forth 
ia  their  hearing  at  the  throne  of  grace  j  —  ah  !  then 
trhcy  remember  with  sweet  and  humble  gratitude  the 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  $7 

forsaken  Jesus  in  the  garden,  and  a  connection  between 
their  spiritual  riches  and  comforts  and  his  destitution 
becomes  clear  all  at  once  to  their  souls,  of  which 
they  had  no  conception  perhaps  while  in  health  of 
body  and  in  the  cheerful  vigor  of  heart  and  mind. 
They  rejoice  then  exceedingly  with  a  joy  full  of  glory, 
that  ever  he  did  procure  such  sweet  comforts  for 
their  distressed  souls,  and  they  are  prepared  to  give 
him  everlasting  thanks  for  every  tear  he  dropped  upon 
the  accursed  ground  of  this  world.  Yet  they  are 
careful,  too,  to  learn  the  important  lesson  of  him,  not 
to  lean  ultimately  upon  any  created  arm.  They  learn 
of  him,  when  lawful  earthly  consolations  and  sympa- 
thies fail,  to  go  a  little  further,  and,  where  no  man  can 
see  them  or  overhear  their  prayer,  to  fall  on  their 
faces  and  with  naked  and  unalloyed  faith  and  trust  in 
God,  to  lean  upon  his  almighty  arm  alone,  and  to 
throw  themselves  with  their  burden  down  at  his  feet, 
there  to  live,  or  there  to  die, 

III.  We  now  come  to  our  third  topic,  where  Christ 
appears  in  the  highest  splendor  of  his  glory,  that  is,  in 
the  free  and  entire  surrender  of  his  rightful  personal 
claims  and  his  lawful  interests  to  a  higher  end  ;  a  sur- 
render made  in  voluntary  and  perfect  obedience  to  his 
Father  in  Heaven,  while  himself  was  sinking  into  the 
deep  gulf  of  unmitigated  sufterings  ;  unmitigated^  I 
say,  because  relief  did  not  come  until  the  close  of  his 
struggle.  And  here  we  have  before  us  the  most  pow- 
erful and  interesting  illustration  of  the  very  essence  of 
that  moral  law  upon  which  the  divine  government  resta, 
"Hath  the  Lord  as  great  delight  in  burnt  ofFeringa 
9* 


and  sacrffices  ^as  in  obeying  the  voice  of  the  Lord  ? 
Behold,  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken 
than  the  fat  of  rams.  For  rebeWion  is  a»  the  sin  of 
witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as  iniquity  and  idolatry.'* 
"Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God  of  Israel  ; 
put  your  burnt  offerings  unto  your  sacrifices  and  eat 
flesh.  Fo-r  1  spake  not  unto  your  fathers,  nor  com- 
manded them  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  concerning  bu7'nt  offerings  or  saerijiees; 
but  this  commanded  I  them,  saying,  Ohey  my  voiee, 
and  I  will  be  your  God  and  ye  shall  be  my  people." 
Jer.  vii.  21.  ;     ar   •. 

The  most  free  and  enlarged  sacrifices  of  Christian 
love  are  the  highest  will  and  good  pleasure  of  an  infi- 
nitely benevolent  God  ;  and  he  who  performs  them 
most  bountifully  and  conscientiously,  acts  in  the  most 
perfect  conformity  to  the  divine  nature  and  obedience 
to  his  divine  will.  Still — singular  as  it  may  appear  — 
those  sacrifices  cannot  be  commanded  and  exacted, 
since  this  would  be  destroying  their  very  nature  as 
freef    and   spontaneous    actions  of   a    benevolent  mind. 

0  that  we  could  throw  away  far  from  us  that  earthborn 
economy  which  asks.  Is  it  my  duty  to  make  such  of 
such  sacrifices  for  the  perishing  souls  of  men  .''    Alas? 

1  wish  it  was  your  inclination  to  do  it,  and  duty, 
cold  duty,  would  take  good  care  of  itself.  But  if  you 
must  needs  ask  about  duty,  do  not,  1  pray,  bring 
forward  the  unhallowed  stone  and  balance  of  human 
prudence,  and  the  infidel  "calculation  of  chances," 
from  your  arithmetic.  Take  the  balance  of  the 
sanctuary ;  come  here  to  dark  Gethsemane  ;  kneel 
down  near  your  Saviour  on   the  ground  ;   listen  to  his 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  99 

prayers,  his  groans  ;  mark  the  workings  of  his  torn 
breast;  witness  the  noblest  of  all  conquests,  the  freest, 
greatest  of  all  sacrifices  ;  drink  in  his  spirit  ;  and 
then,  then  weigh  your  duty,  and  do  it.  But  I  know, 
before  you  have  taken  hold  of  the  scales,  his  spirit 
has  carried  you  away ;  the  sacrifice  which  has  caused 
your  anxious  and  unremitted  inquiries  concerning 
duty,  is  made,  and  has  already  become  the  source  of 
high  delight  and  profit  to  yourself  —  "And  he  went  a 
little  farther,  about  a  stone's  cast,  and  fell  on  his  face 
and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let 
this  cup  pass  from  me;  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but 
as  thou  wilt."  "i\nd  he  went  away  again  the  second 
time,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup 
may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  1  drink  it,  thy  will 
be  done!"  "And  he  left  them  and  went  away  again 
and  prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  same  words." 

Shall  I  spoil  and  darken  and  tarnish  the  moral  beauty 
of  this  quotation  by  explanatory  and  commendatory 
remarks,  to  make  it  intelligible  to  some  of  my  hearers, 
whose  spiritual  sense  may  as  yet  be  dead  ?  As  well 
might  the  earth  send  up  smoke  and  clouds  to  polish 
the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  that  the  sightless 
eyeball  might  be  blest  with  the  glories  of  the  firma- 
ment. No  !  Let  those  comment  upon  such  a  pas- 
sage, who  never  understood,  who  never  felt  its  awful 
solemnity. 

My  brethren  and  sisters,  who  know  by  happy  expe- 
rience the  realities  of  that  glorious  world  to  which 
you  are  travelling,  you,  who  have  a  living  impression 
of  the  nature  of  holiness,  and  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  and 
its  ways  and  workings  in  man,  tell  me,  do  you  have 


100  MEDITATIOxNS. 

an  ideal  of  perfection  among  your  loftiest  moral  con- 
ceptions of  whose  heavenly  birth  you  are  most  satis- 
fied ?  do  you  have  among  your  loftiest  conceptions  an 
ideal  of  holiness  reaching  beyond  the  one  now  before 
you  ?  Such  obedience  exercised  by  such  a  personage, 
under  such  circumstances,  with  such  immediate  pros- 
pects, for  such  a  purpose  —  can  your  imagination 
stretch  beyond  it  ?  Do  you  not  feel  now  like  replying, 
'«And  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only  be- 
gotten of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth?"  Is  it  not 
the  image  of  the  invisible  God  ?  Ay  !  It  is  too  holy 
to  have  originated  anywhere  but  in  Heaven.  It  flows 
down  in  streams  with  the  tender  mercies  of  God. 
Well  !  Christ  hath  left  us  an  example  that  we  should 
follow  his  footsteps.  To  him  it  was  a  hard  task  to 
obey,  for  he  was  left  alone.  To  us  it  will  be  a  delight- 
ful one  through  his  gracious  presence  and  help,  pro- 
vided we  do  not  make  delight  and  comfort  the  condi- 
tion of  our  obedience  and  submission.  "Obey  my 
voice,  saith  Jehovah,  and  I  will  be  your  God,  and  ye 
shall  be  my  people." 

IV.  When  the  anguish  of  the  Saviour  had  reached 
the  highest  pitch  sustainable  by  a  human  frame,  then 
the  heavens  opened,  and  an  angel  descended  to 
strengthen  him.  It  might  perhaps  appear  to  some 
that  not  consolation,  but  merely  supernatural  strength 
to  continue  and  sustain  the  contest,  was  sent. 
(Compare  Luke  xxii.  43,  44.)  This  may  have  been 
true.  Still,  after  the  last  summons  of  Christ  to  his 
disciples,  to  awake  and  prepare  for  the  enemy's  ap- 
proach when  Judas  and  his  band  drew  near,  we  find 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  101 

Christ  collected  and  calm  in  his  mind,  and  clothed 
with  a  dignity  so  superior  to  human  as  to  prostrate  the 
rude  hireUngs  of  the  high  priest  to  the  ground.  Hence 
I  infer  that  the  strength  sent  to  him  from  above,  in- 
cluded comfort  of  mind,  consciousness  of  his  character, 
assurance  of  his  ultimate  success,  and  whatsoever  was 
needed  to  prepare  him  for  his  last  hours,  so  as  to  enable 
him  in  one  holy  and  decisive  encounter  to  foil  the 
malicious  combination  of  incarnate  devils  on  earth,  and 
the  crowning  effort  of  Satan's  subtilty  and  strength, 
whose  hour  and  power  was  now  fast  drawing  near. 

So  the  xxii  and  the  Ixix  Psalms  and  the  iiii  chapter 
of  Isaiah,  as  they  paint  the  sufferings  of  the  Mes- 
siah, throw  character  and  dignity  around  his  sacred 
person  and  crown  him  with  victory  at  last.  No  pro- 
fane eye  ought  to  have  seen  him  in  that  disconsolate 
condition;  and  none  did  see  him  in  it.  Before  the 
infernal  band  draws  near,  God  has  comforted  his 
suffering  child,  and  there  he  stands,  with  the  meek'  and 
gentle  majesty  of  a  superior  being,  dressed  in  the 
formidable  armor  of  holiness,  with  that  calm  great- 
ness of  heavenly  love  beaming  from  his  eyes  which 
remains  the  conquering  queen  of  hearts,  and  forces 
veneration  and  worship  from  the  wickedest  wretch^ 
even  when  herself  under  the  heel  of  brute  force.  The 
black  cloud,  the  roaring  thunder,  the  lightning,  and 
the  rattling  hail,  the  howling  storm  are  past,  and  the 
blue  heavens  of  the  divine  favor,  and  the  shining 
countenance  of  his  Father's  love,  smile  again.  And 
oh !  what  could  he  wish  for  more  ?  what  peril,  what 
fate  could  he  not  meet  under  his  heavenly  Father's 
approving  smiles  ? 


102  MEDITATIONS. 

Blessed  be  God,  whose  government  beams  with 
wisdom,  justice  and  love.  "  The  king  shall  joy  in  thy 
strength,  O  Lord,  and  in  thy  salvation  shall  he  greatly 
rejoice  !  Thou  hast  given  him  his  heart's  desire,  and 
hast  not  withholden  the  request  of  his  lips.  Selah.  He 
asked  life  of  thee  and  thou  givest  it  him,  even  length 
of  days  for  ever  more."  But  not  only  love  to  his  dear, 
only  begotten  Son  prompted  him  to  send  his  messenger 
of  consolation  to  Gethsemane,  —  love  to  a  perishing 
world  was  another  motive,  and  I  may  well  say 
here,  it  was  the  grand  one, —  for  which  may  eternal 
glory  surround  his  blessed  throne  !  After  all,  my 
brethren,  he  knew  his  dear,  holy  child  must  expire 
under  the  burden  of  our  sins.  "Without  the  shed- 
ding of  blood,  there  is  no  forgiveness"  for  sinners. 
His  son  Jesus  must  die,  whether  on  the  cold,  damp 
ground  of  Gethsemane,  or  on  the  accursed  tree  on 
Golgotha; —  after  all,  what  difference,  what  choice  was 
there  between  these  two  alternatives.  And  as  for 
Jesus,  if  he  was  willing  to  become  obedient  even  unto 
the  death  of  the  cross,  surely  he  would  have  been 
willing  also  to  become  obedient  unto  a  death  upon  the 
ground.  But  in  that  law,  which  will  stand  when  Heaven 
and  earth  shall  have  passed  away,  it  is  written ;  '  'Cursed 
is  every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which 
are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them,"  and 
against  is  written,  '^  cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth 
on  a  tree."  Christ  must  die  on  the  cross,  on  the 
accursed  tree  ;  the  antitype  of  the  brazen  serpent 
must  be  raised  high  to  sprinkle  kings  and  nations 
with  his  blood,  and  pour  down  healing  and  eternal 
life    upon    a   guilty     world.     Amen,    and    amen,    our 


CHRIST    IN    GETHSEMANE.  103 

inmost  souls  reply.  Go  on,  go  on,  thou  Friend  of 
dying  sinners!  Complete  the  blessed  work  begun, 
that  our  souls  may  live.  God  speed  thee,  O  thou  con- 
queror over  death  and  hell  !  Break,  by  thy  powerful 
and  victorious  cross,  the  strong  bars  of  our  eternal 
prison  !  Then  ride  forth  and  prosper,  and  our  souls 
shall  follow  hard  after  thee;  and  while  we  have  a  breath 
to  draw,  if  we  are  here  below,  we  will  profess  and 
proclaim  thy  love  and  thy  name  before  the  world;  if 
we  are  in  Heaven  above,  we  will  sing  songs  of  immor- 
tal gratitude  and  praise  to  thee,  till  eternity  shall  be 
no  more.     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


V. 


CAPTURE,  ARRAIGNMENT,  AND  CONDEMNATION 
OF   CHRIST. 


MARK  XIV.  43  J  XV.   1—23. 

And  immediati-Iy,  while  he  yet  spako,  cnmeth  Judas,  ono  of  iha  tw^-Ive,  and 
with  him  a  girat  mullitudu  with  swurda  and  slaves,  Irom  the  chief  priests,  and 
the  scribes,  and  the  tl.le's. 

And  straightway  in  iho  mornin»,  thf»  chief  priests  held  a  cnnsultalion  with  tlie 
elders  and  scribot*  and  the  wliole  council,  find  boun  i  Jesu!',  and  carried  him  away, 
and  delivered  him  to  Pilate.  And  Pilate  usked  hi".  Art  thou  the  King  of  the 
Jews?  And  he  answering,  said  unto  him,  Thou  sayest  it.  And  the  »  hief  ])rie8tii 
accused  him  of  many  thiri^^s  ;  but  he  answered  nothing.  And  Pilate  asked  bim 
again,  Saying,  Answ.-rest  thou  nothing  .•"  behold  how  many  things  they  witnefMS 
■gainst  thee.  But  Jesus  yet  unswereil  nothing;  so  that  Pilate  marvpllud.  Now 
nt  that  feast  he  released  unto  them  one  prisoner,  wIiomsoF.ver  they  desired.  And 
there  was  one  name<l  Barabbas,  which  lay  bound  with  them  that  had  made  insur- 
rection with  him,  who  had  committed  murJnr  in  the  insurjcction.  And  tb* 
multitude,  cr)  ing  aloud,  began  to  desire  him  to  do  as  he  had  ever  done  unto  them. 
But  Pilate  answered  ihem,  saying,  Will  ye  that  I  release  untu  you  the  King  of 
Ihn  Jews  ?  For  he  knew  that  the  chief  priests  had  delivered  him  for  envy.  Bat 
the  chief  priests  moved  the  people,  that  he  nhoulJ  rather  release  Barabbas  unto 
them.  And  Pilate  answered  and  said  again  unto  them,  What  will  ye  then  tkat 
I  shall  do  unto  hira  whom  ye  call  the  King  of  the  Jev.'s?  And  they  cried  out' 
again,    Crucify  him.      Then  Pilato  laid  unto  tbem,   Why,  what  evil  hath   he 

10 


106  MEDITATIONS. 

done?  And  tliey  criod  out  the  more  exceedingly,  Crucify  liitn.  And  so  Pilate, 
willing  to  content  the  pe«>|<le,  rekaseil  Barabbas  unto  them,  and  delivered  Jesus, 
vrlien  lie  had  scourged  him,  to  he  crucified.  And  the  soldiers  led  him  away  into 
the  hall  called  Pretorium  ;  and  thoy  called  together  tlie  whole  band.  And  they 
clothed  him  with  purple,  and  platted  u  crown  of  thorns,  and  put  it  about  his  head, 
nnd  began  to  salute  him,  Hail,  King  of  the  Jews  !  And  they  smote  him  on  the 
head  with  a  reed,  and  oid  spit  upon  liim,  and  bowing  their  knees,  worshipped  hnn. 
And  when  tlicy  had  mocked  him,  they  look  off  the  purple  from  him,  and  put  his 
own  clothes  on  luni,  and  led  him  out  to  (  rucify  h  m. 

Compare    Matthew   xxvi,  47;    xxvii,  1 — ".].      Luke    x.\ii,  47;   xxiii,  1 — 25 
John  xvjji,  3;    xix,  1 — 16. 


We  now  come  to  the  history  of  the  capture,  arraign- 
ment and  condemnation  of  our  Lord.  The  passages  of 
holy  writ  which  I  have  read,  contain  the  account  of 
that  event  as  related  in  the  evangelist  St.  Mark.  The 
proper  text  for  this  discourse  would  again  have  been  a 
harmony  of  the  four  Evangelists  on  the  subject  in 
hand;  or  you  might  have  expected  at  least,  that,  as  I 
have  done  heretofore,  I  should  now  also  supply  the 
deficiency  of  the  evangelist  from  whom  I  have  bor- 
rowed my  text  by  the  additional  information  with  which 
the  other  three  evangelists  favor  us,  and  then 
arrange  the  subject  of  our  meditation  under  distinct 
heads,  and  proceed  to  my  remarks.  This,  however, 
cannot  be  done  in  the  present  instance.  This  part 
of  our  Lord's  history  is  so  closely  connected,  that  it 
seems  ^o  be  incapable  of  any  division  which  would  not 
much  rather  deserve  the  name  of  laceration,  while  on 
the  other  hand  it  is  of  such  a  length  and  in  various 
places  seemingly  so  discrepant,  that  a  harmony  of  the 
four  evangelists  and  an  exhibition  of  the  event  as  it 
results  from  their  joint  testimony,  must  needs  occupy 
near  the  length  of  c.  whole  discourse,  although  the  most 
rigid  economy  of  time,  and  the  greatest  conciseness  of 


CAPTURE,    ARRAIGNMENT,    AND   CONDEMNATION.        107 

style  be  united  to  keep  it  within  the  narrowest  possible 
bounds. 

Yieldins  to  these  circumstances,  I  resolved  at  last 
to  devote  the  Avhole  of  the  present  discourse  to  the 
plaia  exhibition  of  our  story,  permitting  myself  only 
such  explanatory  remarks  as  may  serve  to  give  it  all 
the  fullness  to  which  our  sources  of  information  and 
the  limits  of  a  discourse  permit  us  to  attain;  in  which 
remarks,  however,  I  shall  the  more  willingly  indulge, 
(and  be  indulged  in  by  my  hearers  also,  I  hope) 
that  we  may  have  the  more  spiritual  improvement 
as  .ve  go  along.  And  if,  at  the  close  of  this  medita- 
tion, it  shall  appear  to  us  that  our  suffering  Lord,  in 
his  crown  of  thorns  on  his  bleeding  head,  in  his  purple 
robe  thrown  over  his  lacerated  breast  and  shoulders, 
is  a  subject  on  which  our  hearts  would  delight  to  dwell 
stiil  farther;  and  if  I  can  obtain  some  assurance  that 
divine  aid  will  be  still  vouchsafed  to  me  in  meditating 
upon  this  delightful  theme,  I  shall,  if  I  live  and  the 
Lord  please,  make  Him  the  exclusive  subject  of  our 
next  meditation,  and  then  dismiss  the  theme  upon 
which  we  are  now  entering. 

While  Jesus  made  his  last  effort  to  rouse  his  disciples 
to  watchfulness  and  prayer,  Judas  and  his  band  entered 
the  gate  of  the  farm,  and  proceeded,  as  it  seems, 
directly  to  the  place  where  Christ  and  his  disciples  used 
to  rest.  The  band  consisted  of  a  number  of  Roman 
soldiers  (cr.Tc^o.Jt)  and  a  great  multitude  (Matthew  xxvi, 
47;  Mark  xiv.)  of  officers,  or  servants  (John  xviii.  3) 
from  the  high  priests  and  the  elders  of  the  people. 
They  had  "lanterns  and  torches,"  (John,)  which 
shows  that  the  night  was  a  dark   one,  (John  xiii,  30,) 


108  MEDITATIONS. 

though  the  moon  was  now  at  the  full.  They  were 
armed  with  "swords  and  staves,"  (Matthew  and  Mark) 
to  be  ready  for  a  violent  onset  in  case  resistance  should 
be  offered.  To  prevent  all  mistakes,  and  to  give  more 
efficiency  to  the  expedition,  some  of  the  chief  priests 
(i.  e.  some  who  had  been  such  in  times  past)  and  some 
of  the  captains  of  the  temple  (cr  uri]yol  mv  Ifonv^  came 
with  them.  (Luke  xxii,  52.)  The  Roman  soldiery, 
however,  were  the  proper  executors  in  this  case,  and 
as  they,  of  course,  had  no  personal  acquaintance  with 
Christ,  and  probably  never  saw  him  before,  it  was 
necessary  that  the  person  to  be  apprehended  should  be 
pointed  out  to  them  on  the  spot;  a  cauticn  which  the 
darkness  of  the  night  rendered  still  more  necessary. 
Judas,  who  marched  at  the  head  of  the  band,  and  who 
was  the  pilot  of  the  whole  enterprise,  showed  himself 
forward  to  do  what  indeed  he  was  most  fit  for,  and  to 
mark  to  them  their  victim  by  a  kiss,  which  was  then 
the  highest  mark  of  friendship  and  picus  afiection,  as 
various  passages  in  Paul's  writings  cleaily  show. 
Against  most  critics  I  assume  that  the  soldiers  were 
Romans;  not  only  because  they  evidently  did  not  know 
Christ,  while  the  servants  or  guard  of  the  temjle  must 
have  known  him:  but  also, because  they  are  called  omBiQa 
band,  (John  xviii,  3)  which  always  marks  the  Roman 
soldiery  in  the  New  Testament  becquse  (John  xviii,  12) 
they  have  a  yj^'^'^'^X^^^  o''  captain  over.a  thousand,  also  an 
expression  never  a;iplied  to  the  captains  [otouiijyol')  of 
the  temple;  because,  in  the  same  verse,  the  band  and 
its  captain  over  a  thousand  are  distinguished  from  the 
servants  of  the  Jews  ('4  tnrioinn  i^p  iH^utvo);  because 
(according  to  Luke  xxii,  52)  there  were  several  cap- 


CAPTURE,    ARRAIGPJMENT,    AND    CONDEMNATION.        109 

tains  of  the  temple  on  the  spot,  while  only  one  captain 
over  thousand  (^Xtllaoxo^)  was  present;  again,  because 
Christ,  coming  to  his  disciples  the  last  time  after  he 
aross  from  prayer,  says,  "  The  son  of  man  is  (about 
to  be)  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners,"  («'/«^7u»Ao/, 
uD''p/'7)  or  heathen  ;  and  finally,  because  the  high 
priests  evidently  wisiied  to  do  all  they  could  to  secure  • 
their  victim,  while  the  Roman  governor  would  naturally 
assist  them  in  the  prosecution  of  persons  designated 
by  them  as  dangerous.  Instances  when  the  heads  of 
religious  sects  prosecute  their  dissenting  church  mem- 
bers by  means  of  a  secular  power,  whose  religious 
sentinents  are  equally  against  either  party,  are  still 
so  numerous  in  these  countries,  that  we  need  not  go 
very  far  to  illustrate  to  a  most  surpassing  degree  of 
satisfaction  the  proceedings  of  the  high  priests  and 
elders  in  the  present  instance. 

Our  Lord,  knowing  that  his  enemies  are  at  hand, 
does  not  await  their  full  approach;  but  leaving  his  dis- 
ciples, meets  at  a  small  distance  the  band,  who  may 
have  been  looking  this  way  and  that  way  among  the 
trees,  lest,  having  perceived  their  approach,  our  Lord 
should  make  his  escape.  Calm  and  with  becoming 
dignity,  he  asks  them.  Whom  seek  ye  ?  Some  of  the 
Jews,  probably  not  distinguishing  him  at.  the  moment, 
answer,  "Jesus  of  Naiareth,"  '*  Jesus  saith  unto'them, 
I  am  /j-e."  And  Judas  also  which  betrayed  him  stood 
with  them;  but  he  stands  aghast,  as  it  seems,  not  able 
to  gather  up  courage  that  moment  to  fulfill  his  iniquitous 
engagements.  As  soon  then  as  he  had  said  unto  them, 
I  am  he,  they  went  backward  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
John  xviii. 

10* 


110  MEDITATIONS. 

There  was  certainly  nothing  terrifying  in  the  word 
of  our  Lord.  How  then  was  the  "  gieat  multitude,** 
as  Matthew  calls  them,  all  at  once  prostrated  ?  After 
all  the  attempts  to  explain  away  the  force  of  this 
passage,  the  only  reasonable  answer  remains  this;  they 
were  prostrated  by  tlie  divine  dignity  of  the  Saviour*8 
word  and  appearance,  under  whose  tremendous  weight, 
if  unveiled,  no  created  being  would  have  been  able 
to  stand  up.  It  was  a  ray  of  the  inaccessible  light 
of  supreme  power  and  majesty,  whicli  shot  through 
these  miserable  worms  of  the  dust.  Christ  speaking 
to  the  Jews,  probably  spoke  Hebrew  to  ihem.  The 
only  woids  he  cculd  use  in  the  present  instsmce  are 
"  Wi  'J^^  I  am  he."  But  this  expressiDn  had  already 
acquired  a  deep  and  sacred  meaning  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  used  several  times  in  the  Old  Testament. 
A  few  examples  will  be  in  place  here.  Isaiah  xli,  4, 
"  I  am  Jchovaii,  the  first  and  the  last — I  am  he;"  chap, 
xliii,  13,  "Yea,  before  the  day  was,"  (or  better, 
before  there  was  any  day)  "  i  am  he,  and  there  is  none 
that  can  deliver  out  of  rny  hand.  I  will  work  and  who 
shall  let  it  ?"  and  chap,  xiviii,  12,  '*  Harken  unto  me, 
O  Jacob,  and  Israel,  my  called;  I  am  he;  I  am  the 
first,  I  also  am  the  last."  Pronounced  with  emphasis, 
then,  the  expression  must  have  been  in  the  highest 
degree  awful  and  imposing  to  a  Jew.  And  what 
makes  me  think  that  our  Lord  did  utter  it  with  em- 
phasis, is  that  he  had  already  done  so  on  some  former 
occasions.  (John  viii.  68.)  "Jesus  said  unto  them, 
(the  Jews)  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  before 
Abraham  was,  I  am.  Then  took  they  up  stones  to  cast 
at  him,"  well  aware  that  this  was  saying  more  than  a 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,   AND   CONDEMNATION.        Ill 

mere  man  ought  to   say  of  himself.     Had   he  been  a 
mere    man,  it  would    have  been    blasphemy.     And   the 
same  is   probably  also  true   in   reference    to   verse  24. 
*' If  ye  believe   not  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall   die  in   your 
sins."    Struck  through  with  awe,  high  prit  sts,  servants, 
temple  soldiers,  and  the  band  start  back  and  fall  to  the 
ground.      Nor  did   they  rise    again  without  his   permis- 
sion, which,  however,  he    readily    gave,      lor  he   now 
veils  again  the  terrors  of  his  glory,  he  asks  them  once 
more,  but  in  tcinj  citd   accents,  when;  £<  (k  ye  }     And 
when    they   make  out  to  answer  again  as  before,   he 
rejoins,   "  1   have   told   you,    that   1   am   he,  (probably 
now  omitting  the  emphasis);   if  therefore   ye  seek  me, 
let   these     (pointing   at   his   disciples)   go  their   way." 
This  containing  a  tacit  permission  to  the  band  and  the 
Jews  to  take  him,  they  rise  from  the   ground,  probably 
some  smiling,  some  angry,  at  their  su[;erstitiGus  fears 
as  they  thought  them  to  be,  just  as  the  ungodly  worldling 
always  does  when  the  solemn  time  of  divine  visitation 
and   rebuke   is  over.     Judas,  too,   now  gets  over   his 
-fears,  which  at  first  seemed  to  check   him,  and  true  to 
his  father  the  devil,  even  where  it  was  no  njore  neces- 
sary, (for  Christ  had  m:ide  himself  known)  he  lays  hold 
of  our  Lord,  and  kissing  him  exclaims,  *'  Hail,  Master!" 
•*Then  they  laid  their  hands  on  him  and  took  him  and 
bound  him,"  as  John  adds.     Some  of  the  disciples  ask 
Christ,  v/hether  they  ought  to  offer  resistance.     Peter, 
without  waiting  for  an  answer,  and  to  show  some  of  his 
promised  courage,  cuts  ofT  the  ear  of  the  high  priest *9 
servant,    which   deed   Christ  disapprove  •,  and  healing 
instantly   the   servant,   merely    remarks    to    the    high 
priests,   the   captains  of   the  temple   and    the  elders, 


112  MEDITATIONS. 

*'  Be  ye  come  out  as  against  a  thief  with  swords  and 
staves  ?  (Luke  xxii,  52.)  When  I  was  daily  with 
you  in  the  emple,  ye  stretched  forth  no  hands  against 
me;  but  this  is  your  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness." 
(Matihew  xxvi,  56.)  "But  all  this  was  done  that  the 
scriptures  of  the  prophets  might  be  fulfilled.  Then  all 
his  disciples  forsook  him  and  fied;"  probably  scared  by 
some,  who  attempted  taking  vengeance  on  them  for  the 
suggestion  of  resisting  by  force,  and  the  deed  of  Peter. 
Christ  being  bound,  and  tbe  discij)ics  ijaving  escaped, 
the  company  returns  without  delay.  Mark  xiv,  51, 
*' A  young  man,"  probably  belonging  o  tlie  people 
on  the  farm,  endeavors  to  follow  Christ,  but  being 
violently  seized  by  the  band,  leaves  his  garments  in 
their  hands,  and  flees.  Peter  and  John  (John  xviii, 
15)  soon  return  frcm  their  flights,  and  follow  the  pro- 
cession at  a  distance. 

The  first  house  at  which  they  called  was  that  of 
i\nnas.  Annas  had  been  high  priest  a  short  time  ago, 
but  was  deposed  by  Valerius,  and  his  son-in-law 
Caiaphas  occupied  the  station  now  The  reason  of 
their  stopping  at  his  house,  was  probably  this.  Annas 
was  an  old  man,  who  did  not  wivsh  to  go  to  the  council 
at  so  late  an  hour,  unless  he  was  sure  that  Christ  was 
there ;  and  as  his  house  was  probably  so  situated  that  the 
company  Iiad  to  pass  by  him,  in  proceeding  to  Caiaphas, 
he  may  have  requested  the  leaders  of  the  band  to  call 
in  passing,  that  he  might  follow  the  procession  to  (he 
house  of  his  son-in-law,  where  the  council  was  assem- 
bled. 

'[he    larijer  houses    in  Jerusalem  used  to   form    a 
square  enclosing  a  yard  of  the  same  shape,  in  which 


CAPTURE,    ARRAIGNMENT,    AND   CONDE     NATION.        113 

fifuests  were  often  received,  especlfilly  when  numerous, 
and  public  business  was  transacted.  Into  this  yard 
of  Caiaphas'  house  the  band  entered,  and  it  was 
there  where  the  Sanhedrim  had  convened  at  this  time; 
for,  to  go  to  the  temple,  where  a  large  room  was 
appropriated  for  such  conventions,  was  probably  con- 
sidered improper  at  this  hour. 

John,  who  seems  to  have  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the 
high  priest,  although  he  foliovved  Christ,  entered  soon 
after  and  procured  permission  for  Peter  to  enter 
likewise.  That  the  high  priest  should  have  been  so 
indujfjent  with  John,  may  have  been  owing  to  his 
youth,  or  to  relationship,  or  to  the  frequent  gifts  which 
the  old,  wealthy,  and  devoted  Zebedceused  to  send  from 
his  net  to  the  kitchen  and  table  of  his  holiness,  or  to 
many  other  circumstances  which  we  cannot  now  divine. 
Somewhat  near  to  tlie  duor,  the  servants  had  kindled  9. 
fire,  to  warm  themselves.  To  this  fire  Peter  resorted, 
probably  to  hide  himself  among  the  crowd  in  order  to 
escape  public  notice,  while  John  seems  to  have  been 
sitting  or  standing  solitary  at  a  small  distance,  that  the 
noise  and  idle  talk  of  the  soldiers  and  servants  might 
not  hinder  him  from  listening  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
council.  These  proceedings  were  indeed  absorbingly 
interesting  in  various  respects,  and  we  will  ourselves 
turn  our  attention  to  them  without  delay. 

The  whole  Sanhedrim  and  no  small  number  of  other 
individuals,  all  enemies  of  Christ,  were  present,  and 
Christ  stood  before  them  bound,  and  ready  for  the 
trial.  The  regular  method,  according  to  the  law  of 
Moses  and  their  own  traditions,  would  have  been  to 
bring  forward   and   examine  the  witnesses  against  him. 


114  MEDITATIONS. 

There  was,  however,  a  difficulty  of  no  small  conse- 
quence in  the  way  of  doing  so.  They  had  no  witnesses 
to  examine,  and  no  crime  to  charge  him  ivilh,  and 
Caiaphas  must  have  been  at  a  loss  indeed  how  to 
open  the  examination.  Hence,  to  extricate  himself  if 
possible,  and  perhaps  Vv'ith  a  hope  to  catch  something 
out  of  our  Lord's  own  mouth  (John  xviii,  19)  which 
might  be  turned  against  him,  the  high  priest  begins 
by  asking  Christ  himself  "of  his  disciples  and  of  his 
doctrine."  This  was  a  proceeding  in  various  respects 
cbjectionable.  It  was  against  all  principles  of  equity 
and  good  sense,  which  never  require  a  man  to  criminate 
himself;  it  was  against  the  law  of  Moses,  and  against 
their  own  acknowledged  tradition;  and  what  is  more 
than  all  this,  it  reflected  upon  the  character  of  Christ, 
intimating  that  he  might  have  secret  machinations  and 
plans  to  reveal  and  to  confess  :  a  miserable  and 
iniquitous  contrivance  to  cover  the  dishonorable  fact, 
that  they  had  not  wliereof  to  accuse  him  in  any  lawful 
way.  The  reflection  contained  in  the  address  was  the 
chief  thing  which  drew  forth  the  meekly  defensive,  but 
energetic  answer  of  our  I^ord.  o  suffer  wrong  he 
was  come,  and  he  was  willing  so  to  suffer  it  and  did 
so;  but  reflections  upon  his  character,  which  was  to 
become  the  foundation  of  all  saving  faith  through  all 
generations  to  come,  he  wns  not  called  to  tolerate,  he 
never  did  and  never  will  tolerate  them.  Nor  was  it 
a  hard  matter  to  clear  it.  He  had  taught  among  them 
full  three  years  publicly  before  them  and  all  the  people, 
and  there  were  men  enough  present  who  had  heard 
and  disputed  with  him  on  all  the  great  topics  of 
biblical   and   Rabbinic  learning,  K.nd   controversy,  and 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,   AND   CONDEMNATION.        Il5 

doubt  ;  they  were  both  able  and  willing  to  testify 
against  him,  had  they  known  what  to  say.  Why  did 
none  of  these  sanctimonious  zealots  open  his  mouth 
and  accuse  him  boldly  now,  when  there  was  the  most 
perfect  security  and  a  lawful  oj^portunity  to  do  so  ? 
A  firm  answer  was  absolutely  called  for  here,  and 
it  was  given.  (John  xviii,  20,  21.)  "  Jesus  answered 
him,  I  spake  openly  before  the  world  ;  I  ever  taught 
in  the  synagogue  and  in  the  temple,  whither  the  Jews 
always  resort;  and  in  secret  I  have  said  nothing. 
Why  aske?t  thou  nie  .''  ask  them,  which  heard  me, 
what  I  have  said  unto  them:  behold,  they  know  what 
I  said." 

By  this  reply  the  mcuth  of  the  Sanhedrim  is  stopped; 
but  an  officious  servant,  violating  both  divine  and 
human  laws,  smites  Christ  in  his  face  in  the  presence 
of  a  civil  and  eccicsiaftical  bcaid,  adding  to  this  rude 
insult  the  inconsistent  charge  of  irreverence  towards 
the  high  priest;  which  new  reticction  upon  his  character 
and  conduct  cur  Lcid  repels  for  the  same  reason,  and 
with  the  same  meekness  and  firmness  as  hefore.  "  If  I 
have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil,  (prove  it;) 
but  if  well,  why  smitest  tliou  me  r"  The  aitful  con- 
trivance to  make  our  Lord  criminate  himself  having 
failed,  fnlse  testimony  is  resoitcd  to.  Put  in  the  council 
of  the  Most  High  it  v.as  decided  that  the  haracter  of 
his  Son  should  remain  even  without  the  shadow  of  a 
blemish,  and  the  synagogue  of  satan  without  the  shadow 
of  an  excuse.  To  render  the  testimony  of  two  witnesses 
valid,  they  must  be  separated,  else  their  testimony  is 
not  a  testimony,  but  a  plot;  though  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that   this  was   done   in  the.present    instance. 


116  MEDITATIONS. 

However  this  may  be,  God  divided  their  tongues; 
their  testimony  was  discordant,  whilst  its  falsehood 
was,  even  aside  from  the  disagreement  of  the  witnesses, 
as  clear  as  noonday.  (Matthew  >  xvi,  59,  60.)  **  Now 
the  chief  priests  and  elders,  and  all  the  council,  sought 
false  witness  against  Jesus,  to  put  him  to  death;  but 
found  none  :  yea,  though  many  false  witnesses  came, 
yet  found  they  none  (that  agreed.)  At  last  came  two 
false  witnesses,  and  said,  this  fellow  said,  I  am  able  to 
destroy  the  temple  of  God,  and  to  build  it  in  three 
days.*'  So  Matthew;  Mark,  probably  giving  us  the 
testimony  of  the  other  witness  in  question,  makes  the 
testimony  run  thus.  (Mark  xiv,  53.)  **We  have  heard 
him  say,  1  will  destroy  this  temple  that  is  made  with 
hands,  and  within  three  days  I  will  build  another  made 
without  hands,  but  neither  so  did  their  witnessed 
agree  together,"  the  evangelist  adds.  Now,  had  these 
charges  been  both  harmonious  and  true,  no  sentence  of 
death  could  lawfully  have  been  passed  upon  Christ  on 
their  account;  for  they  are  mere  charges  of  boasting, 
and  are  evidently  allegorical;  though  as  they  were,  they 
gave  each  other  openly  the  lie,  and  were  barefaced 
perversions  of  John  ii,  19,  where  cur  Lord  speaks 
of  his  own  body  under  the  metaphor  of  the  temple. 
**  Destroy  this  temple,"  he  says  to  the  Jews  there, 
meaning  his  body,  **  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it 
up."  ^or  did  the  infuriated  Sanhedrim  dare  to  build 
a,ny  verdict  upon  these  accusations,  and  the  high  priest 
was  brought  again  to  the  dire  necessity  of  addressing 
another  senseless  and  perfectly  uncalled-for  question 
to  the  innocent  and  defenceless  victim  of  their  rage. 
Rising  up  in  the  anguish  of  his  soul  in  the  midst  of  the 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,  AND  CONDEMNATION.       117 

council,  he   asked  Jesus,  saying  :    "  Answerest  thou 
nothing?      What   is   it  which  these    witness    against 
thee?" — as     though     mighty    accusations    had     been 
brought   forward,    and    there    was    now    occasion    for 
refutation  and   vigorous   defence.     The  answer  which 
our  Lord  gave  him,  was  indeed  the  most  powerful  one 
which  the  circumstances  admitted  of.      (Matthew  xxvi, 
63.)      "  But  Jesus   held   his   peace."     The    import    of 
this  significant  silence  was  plain,  and  it  was  confound- 
ing  and   mighty.     What  need  is  there  (for  this  is  the 
tneaning  of  it)  of  my  replying  to  these  open,  self-con- 
tradictory   lies,   which   even    you    cannot    and   do  not 
believe,  nor   dare  to  sentence   me   on  their   account  : 
(Mark  xiv,  61.)      "  But  he  held  his  peace  and  ansv/ered 
nothing."     Now  the   Sanhedrim  was  in  great  straits. 
All    the    night    had     been    spent    in    examining    false 
witnesses  to  no  purpose,  and   an  evil  fate    seemed   to 
confound  and  subvert   every  artful   contrivance  of  the 
seventy  wise  men  of  Jerusalem,  and   of  all  their  hire- 
lings and  satellites.      Already  the   morning  began  to 
dawn;  (compare  Luke  xxii,  66;)  the  unwelcome  sun 
with   hastening  steps   pressed   hard   upon  them.     The 
latest  time  to  finish  the  hard   task  was  at  hand  ;    and 
yet  the  detested,  feared,  hated  young  Rabbi  stocd  still 
in   the   midst  of  them,    alone,  with   his   hands   bound, 
defenceless,   and  meek,   but   firm,  inculpable,    uncon- 
victed, unconquered,  unconquerable;   and  their  cause 
was  more  desperate   than  when  they  set   out.     There 
they  were,  sitting  about,  silent,  with  exhausted   heads 
and     blushing     countenances,    put    to     flight    by    the 
innocence  of  their   defendant,  and  fairly  at  their  wit's 
end.     Then  the  high  priest,   cutting  his  way  through 
11 


118  MEDITATIONS. 

right  and  wrong  to  the  blood  and  murder  of  that  man 
against  whom  neither  true  nor  false  witness  would 
avail,  said  unto  Jesus,  (Matthew  xxvi,  63)  "I  adjure 
thee"  (^^'liuiA')  i.e.  I  cause  thee  to  swear,  "by  the 
living  God;"  "  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God?"  This  form  added  to  a  proposed  question, 
put  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed  under  obliga- 
tion to  reply  under  the  most  solemn  oath,  if  he 
answered  at  all.  Christ  did  answer  —  and  what? 
(Matthew  xxvi,  64,)  "Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou 
hast  said,"  i.  e.  it  is  so,  I  am  he.  "  Nevertheless," 
i.  e.  moreover,  "I  say  unto  you,  hereafter,"!,  e. 
hen  eforward,  "  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on 
the  right  hand  of  power,"  i.  e.  of  God  Almighty,  "  and 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  Heaven"  to  judge  and  reign 
over  this  world,  and  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the 
universe.  The  places  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
Christ  has  in  view  here,  and  which  give  us  the  full 
import  of  his  reply,  you  find  in  Psalms  ex,  and  Daniel 
vii,  13,  14.  The  first  reads  thus;  "The  Lord  said 
unto  my  Lord,  sit  thou  at.  my  right  hand  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool."  And  the  other,  "I  saw 
in  the  night  visions;  and  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of 
Man  came  with  the  clouds  of  Heaven  and  came  to 
the  ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion  and  glory 
and  kingdom  (not  a  kingdom,  as  our  version  says)  that 
all  people,  nations  and  languages  should  serve  him: 
his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall 
not  pass  away;  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not 
be  destroyed."  Here  some  of  the  most  unbelieving 
critics  agree  that  the  Messiah  is   spoken  of,  and  hia 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,   AND   CONDEMNATION.        119 

divine  nature  asserted.  And  Christ  applies  the 
passages  to  himself  under  oath.  I  am  overwhelmed  at 
the  thought  !  Where  is  now  the  miserable  accommo- 
dation system  of  unbelieving  men,  who  tell  us  that 
Jesus  conformed  wisely  to  the  superstitions  of  his  age; 
and  in  order  to  gain  a  salutary  and  lawful  influence 
among  the  Jews,  pretended  to  be  just  that  fabled 
Messiah,  the  vain  expectation  of  whose  coming  occu- 
pied their  vacant  and  sensual  minds  ?  Where  is  it? 
It  is  blown  to  ten  thousand  tatters  by  the  force  of  this 
single  passage.  Christ  has  established  his  divine 
character  upon  the  most  solemn  oath  conceivable,  and 
he  is  either  a  perjured  blasphemer,  or  he  sits  now  upon 
the  throne  of  glory  in  Heaven,  and  will  come  to  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness,  and  reign  from  the  rising  to 
the  setting  sun  for  ever  and  ever;  while  their  selfspun^ 
selfwoven  system  will  prove  vanity  and  a  lie  and  a 
spider's  web  in  the  dread  day  of  eternal  retribution. 
And  you,  all  the  enemies  of  his  universal  kingdom,  or 
you,  cold  and  thoughtless  despisers  of  his  dying  love  ! 
tremble  at  the  greatness  of  his  character  and  his  power, 
and  at  the  gloom  and  terror  of  your  hastening  doom. 
Either  Christ  is  now  in  the  lowest  hell  suffering  the 
punishment  of  his  false  oath,  or  you  must  ere  long  go 
there,  confounded  by  his  sovereign  and  righteous 
sentence,  and  struck  down  by  the  thunderbolts  of  his 
omnipotence. 

But  some  one  might  ask.  Was  it  proper  that  Christ 
should  establish  his  divine  character  by  an  oath  ?  The 
answer  is,  he  had  done  so  already  before  he  came  in 
the  flesh.  Is.  xlv,  22,  23,  —  "I  am  God,  and  there  is 
none  else.     I  have  sworn  by  myself;  the  word  is  gone 


120  MEDITATIONS. 

out  of  my  mouth  in  righteousness  and  shall  not  return, 
that  unto  me  every  knee  shall  bow." 

But  we  must  return  to  our  story.  On  hearing  the 
reply  of  our  Lord,  the  high  priest,  taking  the  very 
thing  in  question  for  granted,  and  assuming  against  all 
propriety  and  good  sense  that  Jesus  was  not  the  Mes- 
siah, pronounced  him  a  blasphemer,  and  hiding  his 
infernal  joy  under  the  mask  of  pious  horror,  rends  his 
garment.  Matt,  xxvi,  Qd,  etc.  —  "He  hath  spoken 
blasphemy,"  he  exclaims;  "what  further  need  have 
we  of  witnesses  ?"  (thus  confessing  that  they  had  no 
witness  in  fact.)  "Behold,  now  ye  have  heard  his  blas- 
phemy. What  think  you.''  They  answered  and  said, 
He  is  guilty  of  death.  Then  did  they  spit  in  his  face, 
and  buffeted  him,  and  others  smote  him  with  the  palms 
of  their  hands,"  (covering  his  countenance)  "saying: 
Prophecy  unto  us  then,  Christ,  who  is  he  that  smote 
thee?"  In  these  abuses,  the  servants  continued  until 
the  time  was  come  to  proceed  to  Pilate,  while  the  San- 
hedrim retired,  to  take  farther  counsel  what  to  do  next 
with  him.  His  death  was  unanimously  agreed  upon. 
In  the  mean  time  Peter  denies  his  Lord  ;  but  a  reprov- 
ing, forgiving  look  of  his  suffering  Master  restores  the 
perishing  soul  to  repentance  and  life.  Want  of  time 
forbids  us  to  attend  in  particular  to  this  interesting 
subject.  Of  Judas  Iscariot,  too,  we  have  only  time  to 
say  that  he  was  evidently  present  all  the  night.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  he  approached  the  Sanhedrim, 
confessing  his  guilt  and  desiring  them  to  take  their 
money  back.  On  receiving  a  spiteful  answer  from 
them,  he  is  driven  to  despair,  and  instead  of  casting 
himself  now  at  his  Master's  feet,  runs  by  him,  right  to 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,   AND   CONDEMNATION.        121 

the  temple,  where  he  throws  down  the  reward  of  blood; 
and  procuring  a  rope  goes  and  hangs  himself.  The 
cord,  being  too  feeble,  breaks,  and  he  is  prostrated 
from  some  considerable  height;  his  body  bursts  and  his 
bowels  gush  out  to  the  ground,  while  his  poor  soul 
goes  "to  her  own  place." 

We  now  hasten  to  the  judgment  hall  of  Pilate,  to 
which  Christ,  still  bound,  was  hurried,  as  soon  as  the 
rising  sun  promised  admittance  at  that  criminal  court. 
Careful  not  to  dehle  themselves,  the  Jews  refused  to 
enter  into  the  judgment  hall,  and  the  Roman  governor 
was  humane  enough  to  come  out  to  them  to  hear  their 
cause.  Conscious  that  they  had  nothing  whereof  to 
accuse  Christ,  they  first  endeavor  to  overawe  the 
governor  by  the  authority  and  dignity  of  their  Sanhe- 
drim; and  when  he  asks  them,  "What  accusation 
bring  ye  against  this  man  ?"  they  proudly  reply,  "If 
he  were  not  a  malefactor,  we  would  not  have  delivered 
him  up  unto  thee.  Then  said  Pilate  unto  them:  Take 
ye  him  and  judge  him  according  to  your  law.  The 
Jews  therefore  said  unto  him,  it  is  not  lawful  for  us 
to  put  any  man  to  death." 

According  to  the  traditions  of  the  Jews  themselves, 
the  power  of  capital  punishment  was  removed  from  the 
Sanhedrim  about  forty  years  before  the  destruction  of 
the  temple,  (i.  e.  about  this  time.)  The  reasons  of  this 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done,  we  are  unable  to 
ascertain.  The  probability  is,  that  the  growing  influ- 
ence of  the  Roman  governor,  and  the  declining  and 
degenerating  character  of  the  Sanhedrim,  rendered 
proper,  and  gradually  introduced,  such  a  change. 
About  this  time  this  law,  by  which  the  Sanhedrim  was 
U* 


122 


MEDITATIONS. 


deprived  of  the  power  of  capital  punishment,  was  a 
new  thing  and  not  yet  carried  quite  into  execution. 
This  throws  light  upon  the  difficulties  of  our  passage. 
The  governor,  not  very  anxious  to  settle  the  religious 
quarrels  of  the  synagogue,  was  rather  willing  to  leave 
it  to  them  according  to  the  old  custom,  unless  they 
could  show  cause  why  the  sentence  of  death  should  be 
passed;  while  the  careful  Jews  were  unwilling  to  take 
the  responsibility  upon  themselves,  and  appeal  to  the 
neiv  regulation.  Indeed,  that  this  was  the  state  of 
things  then,  is  implied  in  the  remark  which  John  adds 
to  this  part  of  the  story.  According  to  that  remark, 
the  cause  was  not  transmitted  to  Pilate  entirely  in  the 
common  and  regular  course  of  business,  but  "that  the 
saying  of  Jesus  might  be  fulfilled,"  (i.  e.  that  he  should 
be  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  heathen.)  (Matt,  xx, 
19.)  The  governor  having  refused  to  condemn  Christ 
wiUiout  a  cause,  the  Jews  (Luke  xxiii,  2)  begin  "to 
accuse  him,  saying,  We  found  this  fellow  perverting 
the  nation  and  forbidding  to  give  tribute  to  Cesar, 
saying,  that  he  himself  is  Christ,  a  king."  What  an 
open  falsehood  this  was,  is  too  plain  to  be  proved. 
Had  not  Christ  most  positively  approved  of  this  giving 
tribute.  How  well  Pilate  knew  his  men,  and  how  little 
he  believed  their  statements,  will  appear  frcm  his  own 
conduct.  Indeed,  if  we  think  of  the  placid  and  meek 
countenance  of  our  Lord,  (for  the  counteiiance  is  the 
mirror  of  the  mind  unless  consummate  hypocrisy 
dwells  within,)  and  of  the  impression  which  his  whole 
appearance  was  calculated  to  make,  what  more  power- 
ful refutation  of^  such  a  charge  is  there  conceivable,  than 
just  his  mere  presence,  his  looks  and  the    expression 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,   AND   CONDEMNATION.     123 

of  his  eye.  "When  he  was  accused  of  the  chief 
priests  and  elders,  he  answered  nothing.  Then  saith 
Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou  not  how  many  things 
they  witness  against  thee  .''  And  he  answered  him 
never  a  word,  insomuch  that  the  governor  marvelled 
greatly."  (Matthew  xxvii,  12.)  How  much  this  part 
of  Christ's  conduct  was  calculated  to  show  his  inno- 
cence, and  how  far  his  disposition  was  from  that  of  a 
rebel  against  the  government,  I  need  not  tell  you,  nor 
did  it  escape  the  attention  of  Pilate.  Upon  this  indict- 
ment, Pilate,  far  from  believing  it,  takes  Chiist  with 
him  into  the  judgment  hall,  to  examine  him  farther. 
"Art  thou  the  king  of  the  Jews?"  he  asks  him. 
(John  xviii,  33.)  To  which  our  Lord  replies  more 
largely  than  we  should  have  expected.  Showing  that 
his  silence  on  the  outside  was  owing  neither  to  stub- 
bornness nor  to  insensibility;  "  Sayest  thou  this  thing 
of  thyself,"  is  his  answer,  "or  did  others  tell  it  thee 
of  mer"  (v.  34.)  i.  e.  I  appeal  to  thyself  whether  this 
question  is  prompted  by  thy  own  impression  or  convic- 
tion ?  do  1  look  like  an  aspiring,  daring  outlaw  and 
opposer  of  government  .''  Is  it  not  the  clamor  of  the 
Jews  which  makes  thee  ask  this  question  ?  To  which 
Pilate  replies,  "Am  I  a  Jew  ?"  (v.  35.)  1  live  in  no 
expectation  of  a  Jewish  king.  To  be  sure,  "thine 
own  nation  and  the  chief  priests  have  delivered  thee 
unto  me;  what  hast  thou  done?"  Thou  must  after  all 
have  committed  some  crime!  To  this,  Christ  answers 
again:  to  the  former  question,  whether  I  am  a  king, 
I  reply,  I  am  a  king.  Yet  not  a  temporal  one.  My 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  If  my  kingdom  were  of 
this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight,  that  I  should 


124  MEDITATIONS. 

not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews.  (v.  36.)  My  very  condi- 
tion shows  the  nature  of  my  kingdom.  Pilate  perfectly 
understood  the  meaning  of  Christ  by  an  easy  reference 
to  some  popular  maxims  of  the  stoics,  and  taking  him 
for  an  innoxious  but  eccentric  personage,  he  answers, 
probably  smiling,  "Art  thou  a  king  then!"  is  it  not 
true,  after  all,  that  thou  art  a  king  ?  (v.  37.)  But 
Christ,  preserving  dignity,  replies,  "Thou  sayest  (right) 
that  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  1  born  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness 
unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth,  heareth 
my  voice."  Then  Pilate,  showing  his  scepticism,  ex- 
claims, 'What  is  truth  .'"  And  when  he  had  said  this, 
says  John,  he  went  again  unto  the  Jews  and  saith  unto 
them,  I  find  in  him  no  fault  at  all."  (v.  38.)  But 
"they  were  the  more  fierce,  saying,  he  stirreth  up  the 
people,  teaching  throughout  all  Jewry,  beginning  from 
Galilee  to  this  place."  So  Luke  xxiii,  5.  They  pur- 
posely and  invidiously  mention  Galilee,  as  that  province 
was  renowned  particularly  for  the  seditious  dispositions 
of  its  inhabitants.  On  farther  inquiry,  Pilate  is  informed 
by  the  Jews  that  the  prisoner  is  a  Galilean,  and  knowing 
that  Herod  Antipas,  under  whose  jurisdiction  he  con- 
sequently belonged,  was  just  then  at  Jerusalem  on 
account  of  the  feast,  he  sends  them  all  there,  glad  to 
get  rid  of  this  unwelcome  business. 

To  anticipate  the  kind  of  reception  with  which  Christ 
was  to  meet  there,  it  is  sufficient  to  remember  that  this 
was  the  same  Herod  who  had  married  his  own  brother's 
wife,  and  upon  whom  the  faithful  and  solemn  entreaties 
and  instructions  of  John  the  Baptist  had  been  worse 
than   lost.     Crime    had    seared    his    conscience,  and 


CAPTURE,   ARRAIGNMENT,  AND   CONDEMNATION.      125 

dissipation  and  self-conceit  iiad  debased  his  heart.  The 
thoughtless  sensualist,  equally  circumscribed  in  influ- 
ence and  intellect,  was  accustomed  to  feed  deliciously 
upon  the  gross  flatteries  of  empty-headed  courtiers, 
and  upon  banquetting,  revelry,  and  the  mean  and  silly 
tricks  of  travelling  jugglers.  He  was  now  "  exceed- 
ingly glad  "  (Luke  xxiii,  8)  to  seQ  Jesus,  and  had  been 
long  desirous  to  see  him;  and  he  hoped  he  would  have 
"seen  some  miracle  done  by  him"  to  make  him  stare 
or  laugh.  Hence  he  condescended  to  question  the  poor 
prisoner  "in  many  words;"  while  the  Jews,  on  the 
other  hand,  trembling  for  their  perishing  cause,  poured 
a  stream  of  complaints  and  lies  into  his  ear,  about  the 
criminality  of  this  his  dangerous  and  aspiring  subject. 
And  it  is  delightful  to  observe  that  our  blessed  Lord 
did  cast  not  so  much  as  one  pearl  before  that  man,  nor 
open  his  mouth  once  to  clear  his  character  from 
charges  which  carried  their  refutation  with  them. 
"But  he  answered  him  nothing,"  says  Luke.  One 
knave  will  easily  find  out  another.  Herod  was  per- 
fectly prepared  to  appreciate  the  motives  of  the  high 
priests  and  Jews,  and  the  weight  of  their  testimony,  of 
which  he  never  believed  a  word;  but  provoked  and 
offended  by  the  becoming  conduct  of  Christ,  he  begins 
to  revile  him,  in  which  he  is  duly  assisted  by  his  cour- 
tiers, who  of  course  admired  everything  he  did  and 
said.  (Luke  xxiii.)  They  "set  Christ  at  nought  "  and 
arraying  him  gorgeously  in  a  white  robe,  they  sent  him 
and  his  disappointed  prosecutors  back  to  Pilate.  "And 
the  same  day  Pilate  and  Herod  were  made  friends 
together ;  for  before  they  were  at  enmity  between 
themselves."  (v.  12.) 


126  MEDITATIONS. 

Ah!  the  matter  fares  miserably  for  the  Jews.  The 
sun  rises  higher  and  higiier,  the  holy  feast  draws  near, 
two  courts  of  justice  (so  called)  have,  on  the  whole, 
pronounced  the  defendant  innocent,  and  yet  he  must 
be  despatched  soon;  for  if  his  numerous  friends  learn 
that  he  is  on  trial,  they  may  inquire  into  the  matter, 
and  then  the  venerable  Sanhedrim  will  appear  to  no 
singular  advantage.  It  is  plain,  they  must  prevail  on 
Pilate  now  to  kill  him,  and  succeed  they  must,  or  their 
character  and  influence  are  at  an  end. 

Determined  to  carry  their  purpose  through,  they 
arrive  again  before  the  judgment  hall  of  Pilate.  But 
Pilate  is  rather  strengthened  in  his  purpose  not  to  yield, 
and  begins  to  plead  the  cause  of  innocence  himself  to 
some  extent.  It  was  moreover  about  this  time  that  his 
wife  sent  unto  him,  communicating  to  him  a  dream 
about  which  her  own  mind  was  much  exercised,  and 
which  had,  according  to  her  opinion,  reference  to  the 
present  aifair,  and  contained  a  warning  to  Pilate  not  to 
stain  his  conscience  with  the  murder  of  this  just  person. 
"Ye  have  brought  this  man  unto  me,  as  one  that  per- 
verteth  the  people;  and  i)ehold  I  have  examined  him 
before  you,  and  have  found  no  fault  in  this  man,  touch- 
ing those  things  whereof  ye  accuse  him:  no,  nor  yet 
Herod;  for  I  sent  you  to  iiim;  and  lo!  nothing  worthy 
of  death  is  done  unto  him.  I  will  therefore  chastise 
him  and  release  him.  (For  of  necessity  he  must 
release  one  unto  them  at  the  feast.)  And  they  cried 
out  all  at  once,  saying,  away  with  this  man  and  release 
us  Barabbas,  who,  Ibr  a  certain  sedition  made  in  the 
city  and  for  murder,  was  cast  into  prison.  Pilate 
therefore,  still  willing  to  release  Jesus,  spake   again 


CAPTURE,  ARRAIGNMENT,  AND   CONDEMNATION.     127 

unto  them  in  his  behalf.     But  they  cried,  saying,  Cru- 
cify him!    And  he  said  unto  them  the  third  time.  Why, 
what  evil  hath   he   done  .?     I  have   found  no  cause  of 
death  in  him.     I  will   therefore   chastise   him   and  let 
him  go.     And  they  were  instant  with  lovd  voices  requir- 
ing that  he  might  be  crucified.    And  the  voices  of  them 
and   of  the  chief  priests  prevailed,"  waxing  stronger 
and  stronger.     Then  took  Pilate  Jesus  and  scourged 
him,  against  his  own  better  knowledge  and  conscience, 
hoping  by  that  affecting  scene  to  touch  the  tiger-hearts 
of  the    mob.     And    after    having    scourged    him,    the 
soldiers  placed  a  crown  of  thorns   and  put  it  on  his 
head,  and  they  put  a  purple   robe    upon  him,  and  said 
tauntingly.   Hail,  King  of  the  Jews!   and  they  smote 
him  with  their  hands.     Pilate  therefore,  hoping  now  to 
effect  his  weak  purpose,  went   forth  again,  and   saith 
unto  them,  Behold   I  bring  him  forth  to  you,  that  ye 
may   know    that  I  find  no  fault  in   him.     Then   came 
Jesus  forth,  (stripped   of  his  garments,  scourged   and 
bleeding)  wearing  the  crown  of  thorns  and  the  purple 
robe.     And  Pilate  saith  unto  them,  Behold  the  man! 
the  poor  sufferer,  who  has   done  no  harm!     Let  it  be 
enough  now  of  revenge  and  cruelty!     But  when  the 
chief  priests  and  the  officers  saw  him,  they  cried  out  — 
horror   strikes  me    as   I  rehearse  it  —  "crucify   him, 
crucify    him!"     Pilate    shrinks   with    terror   from  the 
thought, —  "Take  ije  him,"  he  says,  "and  crucify  him; 
for  I  jind  no  fault  in  him.''     The  Jews  answered  him, 
"We  have  a  law,  and  by  our  law  he  ought  to  die, 
because  he  made  himself  the  Son  of  God."     Another 
falsehood.     They    have   no   such  law,  and  never  did 
have  anything  like  it.     They  could  not  have  had  it. 


128  MEDITATIONS. 

According  to  this  law  they  would  have  been  obliged  to 
crucify  their  own  expected  Messiah,  who  by  the  tenor 
of  the  second  Psalm  was  acknowledged  by  themselves 
to  be  the  Son  of  God.     And  ah!  had  they  had  such  a 
law,  how  carefully  would  they  have  preserved  it  to  the 
present  day!     Upon  this,  Pilate,  terrified  and  amazed, 
leads  Christ  once  more  into  the  judgment  hall  and  asks 
him,    -'Whence  art  thou  ?"  but   receives  no  answer. 
The  time  of  our  Lord  was  now  come.     The  last  word 
of  self-defence  was  uttered.     Then  saith  Pilate  untp 
him,  "  Speakest  thou  not  unto  me?     Knowest  thou  not 
that  I  have  power  to  crucify  thee  and  have  power  to 
release   thee  ?"     To  which  our  Lord  replies  in  sub- 
stance. Thou  hast  no  power  over  me  except  by  a  par- 
ticular divine  dispensation.     Nor  do  I  blame  thee  so 
much;  those  who  delivered  me   unto  thee,  they  will 
bear  the  chief  curse.     Overcome   by  this  remark,  $o 
full  of  meaning,  Pilate  determines  to  make  still  farther 
efforts  to  save  him.      -'But  the  Jews  cried  out,  If  thou 
let  this  man  go,  thou  art  not  Cesar's  friend.  Whosoever 
makethhimself  a  king,speaketh  against  Cesar!"  (v.  12.) 
"When   Pilate  heard  that   saying,  he   brought  Jesus 
forth,  and  sat  down   in  the  judgment  seat,  in  a  place 
that  is  called  the  Pavement."  (v.  13.)     Desirous  and 
decided  now  to  make  an  end,  but  still  anxious  to  s&ve 
the  sufferer,  and  showing  that  their  last  remark  did  not 
affect  him,  he  says,   ''Behold  your  king!"     But  they 
cried  out,   "Away  with  him,  away  with  him  I  crucify 
him!"     Pilate  saith  unto  them,  shall  1  crucify  your 
kino".^  (appealing  to  their  national  pride.)     The  chief 
priests  answered,    "We  have    no  king    but    Cesar." 
Then,  "when  Pilate  saw  that  he  could  prevail  nothing, 


CAPTURE,  ARRAIGNMENT,  AND  CONDEMNATION.  129 

but  that  rather  a  tumult  was  made,  he  took  water  and 
washed  his  hands  before  the  multitude,  saying,  "  I  am 
innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just  person;  see  ye  to  it! 
Then  answered  all  the  people  and  said.  His  blood  be 
on  us  and  on  our  children."  (Matt,  xxvii,  24,  etc.) 
"Then  delivered  he  him  unto  them  to  be  crucified." 
The  insults  and  abuses  of  the  soldiers  and  others  then 
seem  to  have  begun  afresh  with  redoubled  fury,  (com- 
pare Matthew  xxvii,  27)  and  preparations  for  his  exe- 
cution were  fast  made. 

Numerous  reflections  now  press  themselves.  But 
our  time  is  elapsed.  However,  I  will  close  with  a  few 
hints  to  those  who  may  wish  to  dwell  upon  this  story 
still  more  to-day. 

1.  It  was  not  only  a  murder  on  the  part  of  the  Jews, 
but  it  was  a  conscious  and  deliberate  murder,  and  one 
too  which  required  a  most  surprising  degree  of  deter- 
mination and  desperate  perseverance. 

2.  Pilate  presents  us  with  a  most  instructive  example 
of  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  a  time-serving  spirit  ; 
though  his  fine  sensibilities  make  him  more  an  object 
of  sympathy  and  pity  than  of  that  abhorrence  in  which 
he  is  generally  held  by  good  people.  Herod  deserves 
no  attention,  and  the  lesson  we  can  learn  of  him  may 
be  learned  of  any  one  epicurian  wretch  of  the  most 
common  kind. 

3.  The  character  of  our  Lord  was  cleared  to  per- 
fection by  friends  and  foes  ;  his  conduct  exhibits  the 
ideal  of  suffering  holiness  beyond  the  stretch  of  human 
thought  and  invention,  and  is  a  more  powerful  proof  of 
his  being  more  than  man,  than  the  whole  assemblage  of 


12 


130  MEDITATIOxVS. 

his  miracles  are  or  could  be.  While  he  suffers,  he  is 
the  perfect  conqueror  of,  and  king  over,  all  his  accusers 
and  judges,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles. 

4.  He  is  a  golden  mirror  to  us  who  are  Christians. 
This  is  the  spirit  for  which  we  ought  to  ask,  which  we 
ought  to  seek — nay,  which  we  have  in  a  small  degree 
indeed,  but  in  a  degree  marked,  perceptible  and  grow- 
ing, if  we  are  Christians  in  reality. 

5.  What  he  suffered,  he  suffered  for  us,  and  more 
than  that,  he  suffered  it  by  us  ;  we  were  among  the 
Jews,  the  high-priests,  the  band  ;  we  betrayed,  caught, 
denied,  scourged,  murdered  him.  But  we  hope,  some 
of  us  at  least,  that  we  have  sincerely  repented,  and  re- 
ceived the  pardon  of  our  sins,  and  a  new  heart.  May 
this  be  so !  For  if  it  should  prove  false,  then  shall  we 
go  ere  long  to  that  place  where  those  high-priests, 
captains,  Jews,  Herod,  Judas,  Annas,  Caiaphas,  and 
perhaps  Pilate,  have  been  near  eighteen  hundred  years, 
weeping  and  gnashing  their  teeth  ;  and  will  weep  and 
gnash  there  until  their  innocent  victim  shall  cease  to 
sit  **  on  the  right  hand  of  power." 


MEDITATIONS. 


VI. 

BEHOLD  YOUR  KING. 


«*  Behold  your  King!  " — John  xix,  14. 

'*  Go  forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  and  behold  king 
Solomon  with  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother  crowned 
him  in  the  day  of  his  espousals  and  in  the  day  of  the 
gladness  of  his  heart."  Thus  you  are  addressed  by 
the  sacred  poet,  who,  when  he  wrote  that  "song  of 
songs,"  which  [our  adversaries  being  judges]  is  the 
most  exquisite  ever  written,  depicted  with  colors  and 
images  borrowed  from  conjugal  love  and  tenderness, 
those  indissoluble  and  holy  affections  which  unite 
Christ  and  the  church.  Whether  the  passage  quoted 
has  particular  reference  to  the  great  marriage  supper 
of  the  Lamb,  yet  to  come,  when  "the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  shall  come  down  from  God  out  of  Heaven 
prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband  ;  "  or 
whether  its  object  is  to  lead  the  pious  heart  to  a  devout 


132  BIEDlTATiaNS. 

consideration  of  Christ  in  the  beauty  of  his  sufferings,, 
when  he  purchased  with  the  ransom  of  his  blood  his 
beloved  church,  that  he  might  present  her  to  himself  a 
glorious  church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 
such  thing  :  this,  and  all  like  questions,  a  Christian 
may  safely  leave  to  the  critics,  and,  following  the 
drawings  of  a  sanctified  heart,  make  such  a  use  of  it 
for  himself  as  would  seem  best  to  assist  him  in  devo- 
tion and  to  benefit  and  warm  his  heart. 

I  have  used  it,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  affecting 
spectacle  which  the  suffering  Jesus  presented  when 
Pilate  led  him  forth,  scourged,  buffeted,  spit  upon, 
crowned  with  thorns  and  with  an  old  scarlet  mantle 
mockingly  thrown  upon  him,  vainly  endeavoring  to 
call  forth  the  national  pride  of  an  abject,  enfuriated 
and  reprobate  priesthood  and  mob.  A  few  moments 
previously,  Pilate  had  made  an  attempt  to  excite  their 
commiseration  by  leading  forth  our  Lord  when  he  was 
already  in^bis  affecting  condition  ;  but  he  found  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  cruel  indeed.  Then 
followed  his  equally  unsuccessful  appeal  to  their  pa-' 
triotism  ;  and  when  this  also  failed,  he  delivered  up 
Jesus  to  be  crucified.  Like  unto  Pilate,  but  with  dif- 
ferent motives  and  different  feelings  I  hope,  and  to  a 
different  assembly,  I  lead  him  forth.  And  in  doing  so, 
what  fitter  words  could  I  have  used,  to  awaken  the 
sensibilities  of  every  pious  heart,  than  the  words  of  our 
sacred  poet  :   Go  forth,  O  ye  daughters  of  Zion,  etc. 

Few  and  plain  shall  be  my  words  to-day,  beloved 
hearers.  Learning  is  of  all  things  the  very  last  for 
which  I  could  now  wish.  There  are  neither  hard 
words,  no  hard  things  to  be   explained  to-day.     Nor 


BEHOLD     YOUR    Klx\G.  133 

do  I  even  wish  for  the  glowing  imagination  or  the  peer- 
ing intellect  of  great  men,  or  higher  spirits.  No  !  I 
want  the  humble,  penitent,  believinsf,  loving,  grateful, 
and  devout  heart  ;  1  want  the  plain,  unvarnished  im- 
pression of  my  subject,  and  then  as  much  utterance 
as  the  plain  impression  itself  would  suggest,  so  that 
the  fact  may  speak  for  itself.  May  I  have  every 
needed  assistance  and  gift  in  the  performance  of  my 
present  solemn  task. 

Christ,  as  he  was  led  forth  by  Pilate,  shall  be  the 
object  of  our  prayerful  attention  at  this  time.  To  ob- 
tain a  more  correct  and  complete  impression  of  the 
spectacle,  we  shall  have  to  look  at  it  from  three  differ- 
ent points  of  view,  as  it  were.  Doing  this,  the  sub- 
ject will  come  before  our  minds  under  the  following 
three  divisions  : 

I.  The  condemnation  of  Christ  at  the  bar  of  Pilate, 
and  the  sufferings  he  experienced  there. 

II.  Their  cause. 

III.  Their  effect. 

I.  To  attempt  to  make  a  correct  and  adequate  im- 
pression upon  you,  as  to  the  feelings  of  Christ  when 
Pilate  led  him  forth  the  last  time,  would  indeed  be  a 
vain  effort.  Whatsoever  may  be  the  nature  of  enjoy- 
ment and  suffering  in  other  worlds,  in  this  world  it 
holds  true  throughout,  that  they  have  very  much  of 
the  relative  and  comparative  in  them,  i.  e.  here  we 
feel  satisfied  and  happy,  or  displeased  and  unhappy  in 
our  present  condition,  very  much  in  comparison  to 
what  we  were  in  the  habit  of  enjoying  or  sufiering 
12* 


134  MEDITATIONS.  •* 

before  ;  and  hence  it  comes  to  pass,  in  the  experience 
of  every  day,  that  the  same  combination  of  external 
circumstances,  which  fills  one  with  delight,  leaves 
another  wholly  unaffected,  and  presents  a  third  one 
with  the  very  ideal,  as  he  thinks,  of  wretchedness  and 
distress.  A  treatment  which  would  elate  the  heart  of 
a  vain  and  ignorant  slave,  creates  no  emotion  in  the 
breast  of  a  free  citizen,  and  would  deeply  waund  the 
feelings  of  one  who  has,  or  thinks  he  has,  a  rightful 
claim  upon  universal  veneration  and  worship,  and  who 
has  been  in  the  habit  of  enjoying  them. 

You  readily  apprehend  what  I  am  alluding  to  in 
these  remarks.  So  far  as  Christ  was  divine  ;  so  far  as 
his  consciousness  extended  back  into  times,  or  rather 
into  eternities,  when  he  enjoyed  the  adoration  and 
the  praises  of  a  holy  and  grateful  universe,  and  felt 
himself  absolutely  unlimited  and  supreme  throughout 
his  vast  creation  ;  so  far  as  he  knew,  by  an  experience 
extending  a  whole  eternity  back,  what  it  is  to  be 
God  ;  —  so  far  it  would  be  madness  for  us  to  struggle 
for  a  realizing  sense  of  what  he  must  have  felt  when 
standing  before  the  raging  mob  in  that  most  melancholy 
condition  in  which  you  know  he  then  was.  We  can 
only  speak  of  him  as  though  he  had  been  a  mere  man, 
and  then  remember  that  in  view  of  his  divine  character 
we  are  standing  at  the  shores  of  an  unexplored  ocean, 
of  whose  extent  we  have  no  conception. 

In  respect  to  his  bodily  frame,  Christ  must  needs 
have  been  much  affected  by  that  agitation  of  mind 
which  his  approaching  sufferings  had  occasioned  him 
for  some  time  past,  and  which  no  doubt  had  often 
robbed    him    of   sleep,    when    all    around    him    were 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  135- 

sweetly  resting  and  preparing  for  the  duties  of  the 
morrow.  More  still  must  he  have  been  reduced  by 
the  scene  of  Gethsemane,  which,  whatsoever  particular 
views  may  be  cherished  of  it  by  different  men,  must 
be  granted  by  all  to  have  been  an  awful  and  most  un- 
natural and  overwhelming  mental  distress.  In  Geth- 
semane, probably  no  more  than  five  or  ten  minutes 
after  he  rose  from  prayer,  he  was  bound  and  dragged 
back  to  Jerusalem,  first  to  Annas's  then  to  Caiaphas's 
house,  where  he  was  questioned  and  vexed,  standing 
up  all  night,  till  about  morning,  when  the  examination 
was  closed,  and  the  remainder  of  the  time  was  spent 
in  buffeting,  beating,  and  abusing  him,  till  the  hour  to 
apply  to  Pilate  was  come.  Then  he  was  thrust  once 
more  through  the  streets,  to  Pilate,  and  from  thence, 
after  considerable  examination,  to  Herod.  At  Herod's 
court  he  was  again  queried  and  mocked,  and  then  hur- 
ried back  to  lilate  again.  After  some  efforts  to  re- 
lease Jesus,  Pilate,  seeing  the  fury  of  the  multitude, 
delivered  him  to  the  band  of  Roman  soldiers,  to  be 
scourged.  This  they  did  ;  and  being  probably  bribed 
by  the  Jews,  they  added  to  the  punishment  ordered  by 
law  their  own  newly-invented  inhumanities,  platting  a 
crown  of  thorns  and  pressing  it  upon  his  head,  putting 
an  old  purple  robe  upon  him,  smiting  him  with  their 
hands,  and  tauntingly  saluting  him  as  a  King,  And 
you  may  imagine  what  that  meant,  to  have  a  band  of 
rude  soldiers  round  about  him,  who  were  paid  for  their 
barbarities,  and  who  wreaked  their  savage,  spiteful 
rage  upon  a  poor  Jew,  as  they  thought  him  to  be,  and 
upon  whom  they  would  have  much  less  compassion 
than  upon  some  favored  animal. 


136  MEDITATIONS. 

But  the  chastisement  inflicted  by  order  is  already 
enough,  in  itself,  to  make  one  shudder.  When  a  per- 
son was  scourged  previously  to  crucifixion,  he  was 
stripped  of  his  garments,  except  something  tied  around 
the  loins.  In  this  condition  he  was  fastened  to  a  post, 
or  pillar,  and  beaten.  The  instrument  of  torture  was 
a  whip,  with  a  large  number  of  strings  or  thongs  of 
leather,  interlaced  with  little  hooks  so  as  to  imme- 
diately penetrate  the  flesh  and  lay  open  every  vessel 
which  they  touched.  The  Romans  used  to  call  it 
"  horibile  flagellum,"  the  horrible  whip,  and  it  was 
applied  only  to  slaves.  Such  was  the  severity  of  this 
flagellation,  that  numbers  of  the  stoutest  and,  as  to 
bodily  constitution,  most  hardened  malefactors  expired 
under  it.  It  may  assist  us  in  getting  an  adequate  idea 
of  the  barbarity  of  this  punishment,  when  we  remember 
that  not  even  the  well-known  inhuman  Russian  knout  is 
fatal,  unless  the  blows  are  purposely  directed  to  the 
lungs,  while  the  Roman  whip  carried  death  with  it  in 
not  a  few  instances  in  its  ordinary  application. 

1  should  doubtless  be  treading  the  footsteps  of  Pilate, 
if  I  endeavored  to  work  upon  your  feelings  by  exag- 
gerating the  suff'erings  of  Jesus  in  this  instance,  and 
by  representing  the  soldiers  as  making  peculiar  efforts 
to  render  them  severe,  while  I  had  no  reason  or  ground 
so  to  do.  But  I  can  leave  it  with  any  one  of  you  to 
say  whether  those  who  invented  even  new  tortures  and 
exulted  in  the  agonies  of  their  victim,  to  whom  they 
showed  not  a  spark  of  pity,  —  whether  these  men,  I 
say,  were  at  all  likely  to  treat  him  with  lenity,  or  to 
inflict  upon  him  an}'thing  less  than  the  utmost  implied 
in  the  unrighteous  charge  of  Pilate.     Ah  !  there  is  not 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  l57 

a  shadow  of  ground  for  such  a  supposition  ;  and  we 
have  to  admit  as  mere  critics  the  high  probability  that 
our  Lord  experienced  a  flagellation  equal  to  anything 
ever  executed  of  this  kind.  Indeed,  this  is  even  im- 
plied in  Pilate's  own  words,  when  he  brought  him  out 
the  people  the  first  time  after  the  execution  of  his  cruel 
order,  "  Behold  the  man."  Behold  the  extraordinary, 
heart-dissolving  sight,  he  wanted  to  say.  Is  he  not 
scourged  and  lacerated  enough  now  to  satisfy  your 
rage  and  your  envy  ?  Let  the  sight  of  your  eyes 
affect  your  hearts,  and  let  me  now  release  him  !  How 
could  Pilate  have  said  so,  if  Christ  had  not  exhibited 
a  more  pitiful  spectacle  than  that  witnessed  at  other 
times  in  similar  instances.  Why,  the  people  could 
have  answered  him.  Behold  the  man  !  —  what  is  there 
to  behold  ? — we  have  seen  a  hundred  culprits  scourged 
like  him,  and  more  too  ;  ihat  is  nothing  worth  behold- 
ing yet  !  But  they  say  no  such  thing.  They  admit  the 
spectacle  to  be  extraordinary,  and  merely  keep  roaring 
out,  "Crucify  him  !  crucify  him  !"  And  here  let  me 
just  notice,  in  passing,  the  doubt  entertained  and  re- 
peated over  and  over  again  by  infidels,  respecting  the 
reality  of  Christ's  death  upon  the  cross.  Even  very 
lately  it  has  been  maintained  that  it  was  to  the  highest 
degree  improbable  that  he  really  died,  but  that  he  to 
all  appearance  merely  fell  into  a  swoon  and  was  after- 
wards awaked  again  by  the  efforts  of  his  friends,  etc. 
How  could  he  die  in  six  hours,  it  is  said,  when  others 
lived  two,  three,  and  even  six  and  seven  days  upon  the 
cross,  and  either  died  of  hunger,  or  were  torn  by  wild 
beasts  ?      But   that   many  others  did  not  even  survive 


138  MEDITATIONS. 

the  flagellation,  or  if  they  did,  were  treated  with  some 
degree  of  lenity,   came  to  the  punishment  with  robust 
constitutions  and  were  weakened  by  no  previous  ag- 
onizing struggles,   is  taken   into   no  account  by  these 
men.     To  me  it  is  a  wonder  that   he   did  not  expire 
under  the  hand  of  the   soldiers  ;  that  he   could  stand 
yet  upon  his   feet  after  the  scourging  ;  that  he  could 
walk  out  of  the  city  ;   that  he  could  for  some  time  even 
bear  his  own  cross  ;  that  he  could  mount  up  the  hill  of 
Golgotha,    and   at  last  endure  full  six  hours  upon  the 
cross,  conversing  and  praying  to  the  end.     To  me  it  is 
in  the  highest   degree   probable  that  something  more 
than  the  strength  of  his  human  frame  was  necessary  to 
carry  him  through   all   these  horrors  ;  yes,  something 
more.     He  could  not  be  permitted  to  die  in  Gethsem- 
ane,  —  he   could   not,   for  the  same  reason,  die  in  Pi- 
late's hall  ;    he  must  die  on  the   cross,   for  (as  I  have 
already  remarked  formerly)   it  is  written    **  cursed  is 
every  one  that  continueth  not  in  all  things  which  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them;"  and  again 
it  is  written,    *'  cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a 
tree."    And  it  was  only  when  that  purpose  was  accom- 
plished and   his  last  words  were  uttered,  that  the  sus- 
taining power  withdrew,  his  frame  .yielded  to  the  accu- 
mulated causes  of  dissolution,  and  he  yielded  up  his 
spirit. 

When,  therefore,  Christ  was  led  forth  by  Pilate,  he 
certainly  presented  a  spectacle  of  suffering  uncommon 
even  in  those  days.  His  shoulders,  his  back,  half  his 
arms,  and  his  breast  were  lacerated  by  the  whip,  and 
probably  in  many  places  to  the  very  bones  ;  his  coun- 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  139 

tenance  was  disfigured  and  swolen  by  the  violent  blows 
of  the  soldiers,  which  he  had  just  received  in  addition 
to  those  already  inflicted  upon  him  by  the  Jews  the 
night  previous  ;  to  his  wounded  left  shoulder  and 
breast  and  half  his  back  was  cleaving  an  old  military 
cloak  of  purple,  which  was  thrown  upon  him  and 
hooked,  as  the  fashion  then  was,  upon  the  right  shoul- 
der ;  in  his  hand  he  had  a  reed,  mockingly  alluding  to 
the  staves  which  the  commanders  of  Roman  armies  and 
kings  used  to  hold  in  their  hands  ;  and  upon  his  head 
was  fastened  by  repeated  blows  (compare  Matthew 
xxvii,  30)  a  wreath  of  thorns  representing  either  a 
royal  diadem,  or  perhaps  the  laurel  wreath  of  a  con- 
queror. And  worthy  of  notice  is  the  remark  of  a  late 
and  able  commentator,  that  in  reference  to  the  crown 
of  thorns,  some  abatement  should  be  made  ;  because, 
had  it  been  of  pure  thorns,  he  might  have  been  mor- 
tally wounded  by  it,  or  at  least  must  needs  have  fainted 
away  under  the  torment.  But  where  do  you  read  of 
that  abatement,  in  scripture  ?  And  to  all  this  you  will 
of  course  add  the  nudity  and  trembling  of  his  limbs, 
the  paleness  of  his  body,  the  submissive  meekness  of 
his  countenance,  the  anxious  bosom  heaving  still  with 
the  apprehension  of  tortures  to  come  ;  the  agitation  of 
his  lungs,  and  the  feverish  excitement  of  his  whole 
system,  occasioned  by  the  cruel  flagellation. 

Thus  Pilate  led  him  forth  to  the  Jews.  Thus  I  lead 
him  forth  to  you  ;  and  I  have  no  hesitation,  in  the 
words  of  the  Roman  governor,  though  in  a  far  different 
sense,  to  exclaim,  'Behold  your  King.'  To  the  world, 
I  know  he  has  no  form  nor  comeliness  in  this  sad  pre- 


140  MEDITATIONS. 

dicament  ;  but  to  souls  convinced  of  sin,  and  to  the 
true  believer,  it  is  just  so  that  he  is  the  Chief  among 
ten  thousand  and  the  One  altogether  lovely.  O  yes, 
the  more  abused  and  dishonored  for  our  sakes,  the 
more  unlovely  to  the  world,  the  more  a  man  of  sorrows, 
the  more  bruised,  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted, 
the  more  beautiful,  the  more  lovely,  the  more  admira- 
ble he  is  to  us.  Know  it,  proud  and  haughty  world, 
we  are  not  ashamed  of  him  so.  No  !  And  O  !  may  he 
never  be  ashamed  of  us  !  It  is  in  the  beauty  of  his 
sufferings  that  he  is  the  object  of  our  supreme  affection. 
Thus  he  drew  us  in  the  day  of  his  power,  and  we  ran 
after  him.  It  is  thus  that  we  love  him  and  seek  him 
on  our  beds  in  the  night-season.  And  though  we  may 
often  well  say,  "The  watchmen  that  went  about  the 
city  found  me  ;  they  smote  me  ;  they  wounded  me;  the 
keepers  of  the  walls  took  away  my  vail  from  me  ;"  yet 
we  seek  him  still.  And  though  we  love  him  but  little, 
yet,  while  we  have  a  spark  of  faith  and  love  in  our 
hearts,  we  cease  not  to  cry,  "I  charge  you,  O  daughters 
of  Jerusalem,  if  ye  find  my  beloved,  that  ye  tell  him 
that  I  am  sick  of  love."  And  if  we  have  now,  and 
shall  hereafter  have  any  interest  in  him,  it  is  just  so 
that  he  is  our  delight  in  life,  and  will  be  our  consola- 
tion in  death,  and  our  eternal  song  in  Heaven.  Thus 
he  is  our  King  forevermore.  Yes,  our  King  !  For 
while  we  see  him  in  the  very  gulf  of  abject  sufferings 
and  distress,  the  eye  of  our  faith  can  well  discern  the 
moral,  heavenly  beauty  and  perfection  of  the  unique 
sight  ;  our  commiseration  is  quickly  absorbed  by  admi- 
ration and  humble  worship  ;   and   our  tears  of  sorrow 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  141 

and  pity  are  quickly  dried  up  by  the  fire  of  love  and 
joy;  and  in  a  little  while  we  can  only  weep  the  sweet 
tear  of  penitent  affection  and  tender  gratitude.  True, 
we  see  a  sufferer  before  us,  bruised,  abused,  mocked, 
despised  and  condemned  to  death  :  but  we  see  an 
unconvicted,  innocent  sufferer,  a  holy  sufferer,  one 
who  suffers  freely  and  out  of  love  to  his  enemies,  a 
divine  sufferer.  Yes,  he  is  our  King,  he  is  our  King. 
Know  it,  ye  heavens  above,  and  rejoice  with  us.  He 
is  our  King!  Know  it,  thou  distracted  world,  and 
wonder,  gainsay  and  perish!  He  is  our  King!  Know 
it  hell  beneath,  and  tremble  to  the  very  centre!  He  is 
our  King  for  evermore! 

H.  Thus  far  we  have  looked  at  the  scene  from  a 
distance.  We  have  as  it  were  occupied  an  honorable 
place  in  the  windows  or  gallery  of  some  neighboring 
house,  and  the  mad  crowd  before  Pilate's  door  has 
been  raving  beneath  our  feet.  But  we  must  descend 
now,  unexpected  as  it  may  be  to  you,  my  hearers,  and 
humbling  and  mortifying  as  it  may  be  to  us  all,  I  must 
lead  you  down  and  with  you  take  a  place  among  the 
Jews  in  the  street  below,  and  among  the  heathen 
soldiers  in  the  judgment  hall.  For  we  now  inquire, 
what  was  the  cause  of  our  Lord's  condemnation,  flag- 
ellation and  abuse,  and  who  were  the  true  agents  in 
them .'' 

Here  I  answer  without  hesitation,  Our  siiis  tvcre  the 
cause  —  ive  were  the  agents.  Few  words  will  be  needed 
to  establish  that.  An  appeal  to  the  word  of  God  and 
to  your  own  consciences  will  suffice,  if  anything  can 
convince  you. 
13 


14;2  MEDITAtlONS. 

Thus  much  is  plain,  that  he  was  not  condemned, 
scourged,  and  mocked  because  he  had  no  means  of 
resistance.  He  had  them  abundantly.  As  the  Jews 
and  their  assistants  did  not  seize  and  bind  him  and 
drag  him  away  from  Gethsemane  because  they  were 
many  and  stout,  and  he  alone  and  weak,  —  and  as  the 
Sanhedrim  did  not  wrong  and  abuse  him  because  they 
were  the  very  strength  of  the  nation  at  that  time;  so 
Pilate  did  not  condemn  him  and  deliver  him  up  by  the 
power  and  authority  of  his  office^  nor  did  the  soldiers 
tie  him  to  the  pillar  and  subject  him  to  the  horrible 
whip  because  they  had  helmets  on  their  head  and 
shields  and  swords  and  spears  about  them,  or  because 
they  were  a  band  of  muscular  men,  used  to  the  battle. 
All  this  was  not  sufficient,  nor  could  it  have  been  made 
so  by  any  multiplication  whatsoever,  to  account  for  the 
event  before  us.  No!  as  twelve  legions  of  angels,  and 
indeed  all  the  hosts  of  Heaven  were  at  the  command 
of  Christ  in  Gethsemane,  so  they  were  when  he  stood 
before  Pilate;  so  they  were  when  he  writhed  under  the 
hands  of  his  torturers  in  the  judgment  hall.  But  even 
that  help  he  did  not  need.  One  word  from  his  lips  did 
prostrate  the  whole  band  who  came  to  seize  him  in 
the  garden;  another  word  would  have  laid  all  his 
enemies  in  and  about  the  pretorium  into  the  dust.  He 
said  to  Pilate  openly,  Thou  hast  no  power  over  me  at 
all  in  the  common  course  of  things,  but  by  a  particular 
divine  dispensation;  and  even  Pilate  felt  the  propriety 
of  the  remark.  He  was  then  what  he  always  had 
been  and  always  will  be.  He  who  overthrew  heavenly 
principalities  and  consigned  them  to  eternal  chains  of 
darkness,   could  have  made  both   Pilate  and  Tiberius 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  143 

crouch  before  his  feet.  He  who  could  hurl  stars  and 
worlds  before  his  face  as  chalf,  could  have  scattered 
that  handful  of  his  clamorous  foes  with  a  nod.  It  was, 
then,  not  the  power  of  Pilate,  which  commanded 
Christ,  nor  did  the  mere  hands  and  fists  of  the  Jews 
and  the  soldiers  reduce  him  to  that  condition,  in  which 
we  find  him  to-day.  The  clamor  of  the  Jews  did  not 
bring  about  his  condemnation  for  being  so  overwhelming 
and  so  pertinacious.  What,  then,  did  it?  you  ask.  If 
they  were  not  the  proper  agents  in  the  matter,  what 
is  the  cause?  who  are  the  agents?  where  are  they?  I 
answer  with  the  prophet,  ".He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  — ^^^he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities; 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him;  and  with 
his  gripes  we  are  healed,"  (Isaiah  liii,  5,)  Here  is 
the  mystery  unravfelled;  here  is  the  cause,  here  are 
the  agents.  Our  sins  did  it,  that  is  to  say,  ive  did  it. 
We  tormented  and  abused  and  crucified  him.  Like 
a  lamb  he  entered  in  among  us,  a  herd  of  grievous, 
starving  wolves.  *^  Here  am  I  (he  cried)  take  me, 
tear  me  to  pieces,  eat  my  fleshy,  suck  my  blood,  if  it 
can  do  you  any  good."  We  did  tear  him  to  pieceg. 
And,  blessed  be  God  forever,  his  flesh  does  do  us 
good;  for  it  does  satisfy  our  raging  hunger;  it  is 
according  to  his  own  words,  that  bread  which  came 
down  from  heaven  and  of  which,  if  any  man  eat,  he 
shall  live  forever.  His  blood!  O  yes,  it  does  us  good, 
for  it   "  cleanseth  from  all  sins." 

My  friends,  I  have  led  you  down,  and  have  put  you 
among  the  raving  Jews;  and  now  I  ask  you,  is  it  not 
your  appropriate  place?  Do  you  deserve  a  better  one? 
I  do  not.     It  is  but  too  true,  you  do  not.     We  are  no 


144  MEDITATIONS. 

better  than  the  adversaries  and  tormentors  of  Christ 
in  our  scene.  When  we  were  groveling  in  that  com- 
mon, low,  stupid  impenitence  which  is  the  choice  and 
condemnation  of  the  mass  of  men,  then  did  we  stand 
among  the  satellites  of  the  priests  and  the  elders,  and 
cried,  Crucify,  crucify  him!  When  we  rose  a  little 
higher  to  polished  and  popular  religious  habits,  and 
put  on  the  beautiful,  embroidered  garment  of  self- 
righteousness,  or  the  toga  of  a  vain  philosophy,  when 
we  sought  to  make  good  works,  or  some  system  of  our 
own  framing  upset  and  supplant  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross,  then  did  we  sit  in  Caiaphas's  house,  worthy 
members  of  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  and  seeking  false 
witnesses  against  Christ,  but  finding  none.  When  we 
judged  and  condemned  his  people  because  they  were 
imperfect,  or  when  we  conformed  to  the  world,  know- 
ingly, and  against  our  conscience,  then  did  we  deny 
him  with  Peter  and  condemn  him  with  Pilate.  Our 
avarice  often  sold  him  for  less  than  thirty  pieces  of 
silver;  our  desire  to  break  away  from  every  restraint 
of  religion  and  of  divine  laws  bound  his  hands  and 
tied  him  to  the  dreadful  pillar  in  the  judgment  hall; 
our  early  youthful  vanity  stripped  him  of  his  simple 
and  necessary  garments;  our  pride,  our  aspiration  to 
worldly  greatness  threw  the  purple  robe  over  his 
shoulders  and  crowned  him  with  thorns;  our  epicurian 
desires  for  everything  which  struck  and  allured  our 
senses  and  our  wickedness  in  its  ten  thousand  names 
and  forms  laid  the  horrible  whip  over  his  tender  body 
and  inflicted  his  numberless  wounds  upon  him.  We 
did  it  —  we  did  it;  and  well  might  our  souls  melt  with 
sorrow  and  our  eyes  dissolve  in  tears.     The  man  who 


BfiHOLD    YOUR    KING.  145 

can  look  at  this   picture  without  a  tear,  has  a  heart   of 
stone. 

And  now,  my  friends,  I  ask  you,  after  you  have 
done  all  this  to  your  innocent  Saviour,  will  you  do  so 
still?  Will  you  still  keep  roaring  out  ' Crucify  him!  ' 
Will  you  still  betray,  sell,  deny,  condemn,  and  bind 
him?  Will  you  still  buffet,  and  scourge  him,  and  mock 
him?  If  so,  then  you  are  still  among  the  Jews,  you 
are  one  of  the  high-priests  and  elders;  you  sit  down 
with  the  Sanhedrim,  and  with  Pilate  upon  the  judgment 
seat;  you  are  one  of  the  rude  and  barbarous  band  of 
soldiers;  and  if  you  do  not  follow  Judas  in  his  death, 
you  will  certainly  follow  him  in  his  doom,  and  take 
^•our  place  for  a  long  eternity  with  all  the  enemies  of 
Christ. 

III.  I  now  proceed  to  invite  all  those  who  have 
forsaken,  or  are  willing  immediately  to  forsake  the 
ranks  of  the  enemies  of  Christ,  to  the  consideration  of 
our  third  topic. 

Here  we  shall  have  to  change  our  place  once  more. 
And  it  will  perhaps  be  again  quite  unexpected  to  some 
of  you,  if  I  assign  you  not  a  more  honorable  place 
than  that  which  you  now  so  gladly  leave,  but  a  much 
less  honorable  one.  Yes,  the  place  we  now  take  is 
much  more  mortifying,  humbling  and  despised  than 
the  one  we  just  occupied;  but  it  is  also  much  safer  ; 
and  I  think  after  a  little  while  you  will  love  to  be  there. 

We  now  gather  round  about  Barabbas,  "who,  for 
a  certain  sedition  made  in  the  city  and  for  murder^ 
was  cast  into  prison."     (Luke  xxiii,  19.) 

We  need  not  blush  to  get  into  his  company;  before 
13* 


146  MEDITATIONS. 

the  bar  of  God,  we  are  already  in  it.  He  was  a  rebel 
against  lawful  civil  authority;  he  was  a  murderer;  he 
was  caught  and  imprisoned,  and  awaited  his  sentence 
of  death.  If  you  take  this  definition  of  his  character, 
life  and  condition,  and  removing  it  from  its  political 
ground  to  the  one  of  Jehovah's  universal  theocracy;  if 
you  put  God  for  Tiberius,  the  law  of  heaven  and  of  all 
the  universe  for  the  Roman  law;  if  you  put  the  Son  of 
God  and  your  own  and  a  thousand  other  souls  for  a 
simple  man  murdered,  and  for  every  transitory  and 
finite  relation,  motive  and  consequence  in  Barabbas's 
case,  its  corresponding,  eternal,  and  spiritual  reality, — 
then,  what  more  faithful  definition  of  our  character  and 
our  lives  as  sinners,  and  of  our  situation  as  prisoners 
for  the  great  day  of  account,  can  you  desire,  than  that 
given  hy  Luke  to  Barabbas.'*  We  have  rebelled 
against  God,  and  broken  his  holy  law;  we  have  slain 
our  own  souls,  and  have  enticed  others  and  assisted 
them  to  do  the  same  to  themselves;  we  have  crucified 
the  Son  of  God;  v/e  are  seized  and  shut  up  in  the  hand 
of  Omnipotence,  and  the  dread  day  of  account  draws 
near.  Before  the  bar  of  Pilate,  indeed,  we  are  not  like 
Barabbas  :    before  the  bar  of  God  we  are  like  him. 

It  is  not  easy  to  realize  the  emotions  of  Barabbas  as 
he  stood  before  Pilate's  house,  bound  and  ready  to  be 
condemned  to  crucifixion.  What  fluctuations  of  hope 
and  fear,  of  joy  and  misgiving  must  have  agitated  his 
breast  while  the  Jews  strove  for  his  release  on  the 
one  hand  and  Pilate  employed  every  means  of  per- 
suasion on  the  other  to  bring  him  into  ruin.  One  hour 
after  another  passed  away;  neither  party  seemed  to 
yield;    and   even  when  he   saw  the    young  Rabbi  so 


SEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  147 

severely  scourged,  Pilate's  desire  to  save  that  man 
was  not  at  all  abated,  and  the  avenging  sword  of 
justice  remained  still  hanging  over  his  own  defenceless 
head.  At  last  the  crowd  prevailed;  Pilate,  wearied 
and  worn  out,  condemned  the  innocent;  and  he,  the 
murderer,  was  dismissed  unpunished. 

Here  the  feelings  of  the  upright  man  may  be  power- 
fully roused,  and  the  most  perfect  abhorrence  at  the 
unjust  proceedings  of  this  arbitrary  bar  of  so  called 
justice  may  fill  his  bosom.  But  the  eye  of  faith  doeth 
not  stop  at  the  bar  of  Pilate.  -  Back  it  wings  its  way,  on 
the  pinions  of  revelation,  to  that  distant  but  momentous 
hour  when  the  same  cause  was  agitated  in  the  court  of 
Heaven,  though  plead  by  very  different  pleaders;  and 
was  decided  by  the  judge  of  all  in  the  same  manner, 
though  from  motives  as  far  above  Pilate's  as  the 
heavens  are  high  above  the  earth,  Pilate's  court  and 
sentence  are  mere  consequences  of  that,  mere  shadows 
of  it  thrown  upon  the  pages  of  the  history  of  our  globe 
by  a  thousand  refractions,  in  the  fullness  of  time.  You 
all  remember  the  passage  in  the  revelation  of  St.  John, 
which  speaks  of  the  Lamb  of  God  as  slain  "  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  This  points  to  a  judicial 
transaction  in  Heaven  which  had  reference  to  the 
redemption  of  our  race.  We  know  the  issue;  and  of 
course  we  know,  so  far  at  least,  also  the  decisions  of 
that  holy  council. 

A  world  had  rebelled,  and  was  fallen.  The  inviola- 
ble law  was  broken,  and  the  world  rebellious,  being 
inhabited  by  immortal  beings,  the  penalty  of  endless 
ruin  must  be  exacted;  for,  if  not  endless,  then  the  time 
of  punishment,  however  long,  must  needs  dwindle  into  a 


148  MEbiTATibNs. 

mere  nothing  in  comparison  to  an  eternity  of  bliss  that 
would  follow  it,  and  therefore  could  subserve  no 
purpose  in  deterring  other  unstable  minds  from  trans* 
gressing  the  law  still  farther;  other  fequally  momentous 
considerations  not  to  mention.  Countless  immortal 
minds  and  moral  agents  apprised  of  the  rebellion  must 
have  been  in  awful  suspense,  whether  the  pledge  of 
the  supreme  Lawgiver  would  now  be  redeemed,  and 
the  law  magnified  in  the  eternal  destruction  of  a  fallen 
world  ;  or  whether  indefinite  mercy  would  be  extended 
to  them,  the  law  itself  thus  virtually  abrogated,  and 
the  most  alarmins  and  irrevocable  doubt  and  darkness 
thrown  over  the  moral  character  of  God,  and  the 
stability  of  his  government,  the  character  of  C-od,  the 
only  ground  of  hope,  the  only  warrant  for  their  holy 
joys  through  all  eternity  to  come.  Here  was  a  dreadful 
alternative;  a  world  to  be  devoured  by  eternal  fire, 
or  the  peace  of  every  holy  being  taken  away.  The 
latter  being  wholly  inadmissible,  the  ruin  of  our  guilty 
world  seemed  unavoidable.  No  created  arm  could 
save,  but  the  uncreated  arm  could.  Every  sensitive 
being,  ss  such,  has  private  interests  which  can  be 
sacrified  not  only  with  no  impeachment  to  the  moral 
character  of  the  agent,  but  to  its  great  honor  and 
credit.  Scripture  and  reason  reveal  God  as  a  sensitive 
being.  The  Son  of  the  Father  could  be  given  up,  and 
give  up  himself;  the  Word  could  become  flesh,  and 
make  a  free,  personal  atonement  for  sinners.  He  was 
willing.  Then  stood  this  fallen  world,  the  rebel,  the 
murderer,  we  among  the  rest,  on  one  side,  he  on  the 
other.  Justice  plead  for  him,  mercy  for  us.  Mercy 
rejoiced  against  judgment.     The  great  fact  of  Redemp- 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  149 

tion  proves  it,  and  shows  the  result  and  consequences 
of  the  holy  session.  Christ  became  amenable  to  the 
broken  law ;  the  rebellious  world  was  cleared.  Hitherto 
the  holy  zealous  God,  the  just  one  who  could  not  and 
would  not  clear  the  guilty,  had  been  her  offended 
Sovereign,  —  now  Christ,  the  Saviour,  the  friend  of 
sinners,  the  prince  of  peace,  became  her  king  exclusive, 
until  that  time  when  the  whole  purpose  of  his  incar- 
nation shall  be  accomplished,  and  this  world  return  to 
her  primeval  relation  in  the  moral  universe,  not  with- 
out an  eternal  rememberance  and  worship  of  their 
Saviour  from  ruin.  (Compare  1  Corinthians  xv,  24.  &c. 
and  Revelation  v,  12,  13.)  Christ  thus  became  the 
dispenser  of  every  mercy,  and  the  disposer  of  every 
event  and  change  in  the  ancient  dispensation;  and  so 
he  is  now.  He  was  the  spiritual  Rock  that  followed 
Israel  in  the  wilderness  —  (1  Corinthians  x,  4);  in  him 
did  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  believe  and  hope; 
his  spirit  they  had,  his  servants  they  were.  Methinks 
I  see  him  led  forth  from  the  court  of  Heaven  after  that 
solemn  transaction;  and  while  he  is  presented  to  a 
trembling  world  of  perishing  sinners  who  had  forfeited 
their  blessed  relation  to  a  holy  and  just  God,  I  hear 
the  joyful  proclamation  made  by  angel  choirs  accom- 
panied by  the  harpers  of  Heaven  harping  with  their 
harps,  Behold  your  King,  Behold  your  King,  ye 
trembling  sinners.  Take  fresh  courage  and  strike  up 
a  joyful  hymn  of  praise!  The  great  case  is  decided; 
mercy  has  triumphed;  the  sentence  is  passed,  recorded 
and  sealed  with  the  seal  of  eternity.  Your  sins  are 
his;  his  righteousness  is  yours;  and  let  every  perishing 
sinner  now  gather  up  close  to  him  who  can  and  will 
gave  his  soul  from  death, 


150  MEBiTATIONS. 

My  soul  stands  erect  with  joy;  my  steadfast  eye 
looks  down  into  the  prison  of  the  archfiend,  and  my 
unfaltering  voice  demands,  "  Who  shall  lay  anything 
to  the  charge  of  God's  elect?"  I  glance  over  the 
plains  of  Heaven,  —  nor  do  I  shrink  as  my  eye 
approaches  the  cloud,  and  the  darkness  which  hides 
from  created  eyes  the  consuming  brightness  of  that 
inaccessible  light  in  which  God  himself  dwelleth,  —  and 
I  ask,  with  a  boldness  tempered  with  humility  and  awe, 
but  not  with  fear,  "Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  "  — 
But  I  look  also  down  to  earth,  and  as  I  behold  the  bar 
of  Pilate  again,  and  behold  the  meek,  lowly,  innocent, 
the  perfect,  the  holy,  divine,  maltreated  Jesus,  —  the 
very  instant  melts  both  heart  and  eye,  and  that  all 
conquering  love  which  triumphed  in  Heaven,  triumphs 
also  in  the  sinful  breast,  and  forth  bursts  the  invol- 
untary exclamation,  "  Who- shall  separate  me  from  the 
love  of  Christ  ?  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or 
persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 
sword  ?  Neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor 
principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  present,  nor 
things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other 
creature  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

I  lead  him  forth  once  more  —  "  Behold  your  King." 
Drink  in,  in  draughts  long  and  full,  the  precious 
impression  of  the  scene.  Every  feature  is  a  fountain 
of  spiritual  joys,  and  a  storehouse  of  omnipotent 
motives  to  a  holy  life.  Mark  the  paleness  of  his 
countenance,  the  sadness  of  his  downcast  eye,  the 
sweat  of  anguish  mingled  with  blood  on  his  brow, 
find  flowing  down   his  brejist  and  shoulders  and   arms; 


BEHOLD    YOUR    KING.  151 

then  turn  to  the  fashionable  vanities  of  this  world,  and 
they  will  appear  as  they  ought, —  "base  as  the  dirt 
beneath  your  feet,"  Look  at  the  nudity  of  his  insulted 
body,  and  see  then  how  accumulated  riches  will 
appear  !  Bring  hither  all  the  pomp  and  dress,  the 
crowns,  purples  and  scepters  of  earth,  put  them  beside 
his  crown  of  thorns,  his  ragged  purple  robe,  and  his 
reed,  and  say  if  you  could  choose  them,  could  you 
parade  in  them  ?  Witness  the  meekness  of  his  conduct, 
the  silence  of  his  lips  while  thousands  cry  out,  crucify 
him!  crucify  him!  and  then  dare  repine  at  sufterings  for 
his  name's  sake,  and  retort  injuries  to  your  persecutors! 
In  one  word,  look  at  Him,  and  then  attempt  it,  and 
follow  the  world  again  if  you  can.  I  know  you  can- 
not—  you  will  not.  He  who  can  and  will  do  this  is  a 
demon — not  a  man;  and  the  sovereign  remedy  of  sal- 
vation having  failed  to  meet  his  case,  he  will  go  to  the 
fire  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels. 

"  Behold  your  king!"  Now  you  hear  it  from  lips  of 
dust,  and  you  rejoice,  brethren.  You  rejoice  to  behold 
him,  the  despised  and  rejected,  crowned  with  thorns, 
beaten,  bruised,  clothed  in  rags  of  mockery,  and  near 
to  an  ignominious  death.  He  is  your  king,  the  con- 
demned at  Pilate's  bar.  But  as  you  stand  at  Pilate's 
bar  around  him  whom  your  soul  loveth,  look  up!  Do 
you  see  the  blue  sky  over  you?  From  thence  he  will 
come  ere  long  and  will  not  tarry.  Then  will  he  wear 
a  crown,  not  of  thorns,  but  of  thousand  thousand  suns. 
Then  his  imperial  garment,  not  a  robe  of  purple  dust, 
but  one  inwoven  with  light,  will  blaze  like  an  ocean  of 
melted  diamond,  and  seraphs  will  hide  their  faces. 
Then,  not  a  reed,   but  the  omnipotent  sceptre   of  the 


152  MEDITATIONS. 

universe  will  grace  his  pierced  hand.  He  will  not 
stand  then  to  be  judged  of  ungratefnl  worms,  but  he 
will  sit  to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness.  No 
clamorous  Jews,  no  profane  heathens  will  crowd  his 
sacred  person;  but  submissive  angels  without  number 
will  surround  him  in  respectful  distance,  to  fly  to  the 
execution  of  his  nod.  His  lips  will  not  be  silent,  but 
will  speak,  in  the  harmonious  accents  of  Heaven,  eternal 
peace  to  the  righteous,  and  shake  earth  and  hell  with 
the  thunder  of  his  just  irrevocable  sentence.  The  new 
heavens  will  proclaim  it  with  joy,  He  is  our  king!  the 
new  earth  will  echo  back  the  joyful  sentence;  and  as 
the  swelling  sound  rolls  on  and  breaks  at  last  upon  the 
distant  gates  of  hell,  Omnipotence  will  extort  from  its 
reprobated  inmates  the  confession.  He  whom  we 
crowned  with  thorns,  mocked,  buffetted,  and  crucified, 
rules  the  universe  with  the  sceptre  of  his  love,  or 
the  iron  rod  of  his  insufferable  indignation.  Every 
knee  shall  bow  unto  him,  and  every  tongue  confess  him 
Lord. 

Take  it  with  you,  brethren  and  sisters,  the  dear 
word  —  "Behold  your  King!"  Behold  him  by  faith, 
while  you  sojourn  here  below  —  and  soon,  soon  you 
shall  see  him  as  he  is.  The  unconverted  of  my  hearers 
may  retire  at  this  time  with  the  solemn  admonition  of 
the  Psalmist;  kiss  the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye 
perish  from  the  way  when  his  wrath  is  kindled  but  a 
little.  Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  him! 
Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


VII. 


THE  SCENE  OF  GOLGOTHA. 


MATTHEW    XXVir,  32—56. 

And  as  they  came  out,  they  found  a  man  of  Cyrene,  Simon  by  name  ;  him  they 
compelled  to  bear  his  cross.  And  when  they  were  come  unto  a  place  called  Gol- 
gotha, that  is  to  say,  A  place  of  a  skull,  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink,  mingled 
with  gall :  and  when  he  had  tasted  thereof,  he  would  not  drink.  And  they  cru- 
cified him,  and  parted  his  garments,  casting  lots,  that  it  might  ho  fulfilled  which 
was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  They  parted  my  garments  among  them,  and  upon  my 
vesture  did  they  cast  lots.  And  sitting  down,  they  watched  iiim  there  :  and  set 
up  over  his  head  his  accusation,  written,  THIS  IS  JESUS  THE  KING  OP 
THE  JEWS.  Then  were  there  two  thieves  crucified  with  him;  one  on  the 
right  hand,  anJ  another  on  the  left.  And  they  that  passed  by  reviled  him, 
wagging  their  heads,  and  saying,  Thou  that  destroyest  the  temple,  and  buildest 
it  in  three  days,  save  thyself.  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  come  down  from  the 
cross.  Likewise  also  the  chief  priests,  mocking  him,  with  thescril)e3  and  elders, 
said,  He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot  save.  If  he  be  the  King  of  Israel,  let 
him  now  come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe  him.  He  trusted  in 
God,  let  him  deliver  him~now,  if  he  will  have  him  ;  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son  of 
God.  The  thieves  also,  which  were  crucified  with  him,  cast  the  same  in  hia 
teeth.  Now  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land  unto  the 
ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth  hour  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying, 
Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani .''  that  is  to  say.  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou 
forsaken  me  .''  Some  of  them  that  stood  there,  v/Iien  they  heard  that,  said,  This 
maa  calleth  fur  Elias.     And  straightway  one  of  them  ran^  and  took  a  sponge, 

14 


154  Meditations. 

and  filled  it  with  vinegar,  and  put  it  on  a  reed,  and  gave  bim  to  drink.  The 
rest  said,  Let  be  ;  let  us  see  whether  Ellas  will  come  to  save  him.  Jesus,  when 
he  bad  cried  again  with  a  loud  voice,  yielded  up  the  ghost.  And  behold,  the  vail 
of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  ;  and  the  earth  did 
quake,  and  the  rocks  rent ;  and  the  graves  were  opened ;  and  many  bodies  of 
saints  which  slept  arose  and  came  out  of  the  graves  after  his  resurrection,  and 
went  into  the  holy  city  and  appeared  unto  many.  Now  when  the  centurian,  and 
they  that  were  with  him  watching  Jesus,  saw  the  earthquake,  and  those  things 
that  were  done,  they  feared  greatly,  saying,  Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God.  And 
many  women  were  there  beholding  afiir  off,  which  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee, 
ministering  unto  him  ;  atnong  which  was  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother 
of  James  and  Joses,  and  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children. 

(Compare  Mark  xv.  21 — 41  ;   Luke  xxiii,  2G  —  49  j  John  xix.  17  —  37.) 

If  we  were  called  upon  to  be  present  at  the  death- 
bed of  one  of  our  most  endeared  friends  —  perhaps 
that  of  a  tender-hearted  and  faithful  father,  or  of  a 
pious,  praying  mother,  or  of  a  dear,  well-tried  partner, 
or  of  a  godly  brother  or  sister,  or  a  beloved  child,  — 
certainly  we  should  prepare  ourselves  to  attend  the 
solemn  and  affecting  scene  with  the  most  collected  and 
serious  frame  of  mind.  At  the  sufferings  and  the 
struggles  of  the  beloved  object,  the  most  tender 
emotions  would  agitate  our  breast.  Our  bosoms  would 
heave  with  his  bosom  and  our  eye  would  melt  with 
every  painful  motion  of  his  countenance.  We  should 
suffer,  we  should  agonize,  we  should  die,  as  it  were, 
■with  him.  At  the  near  and  awful  view  of  eternity  and 
eternal  things,  the  oblivion  of  earth  and  of  every 
perishable  object  would,  like  an  impenetrable  curtain, 
draw  itself  around  us  and  the  couch  of  our  departing 
friend,  and  for  one  hour  at  least,  —  an  hour  of  deep 
interest  and  of  incalculable  bearings  upon  our  own 
approaching  death  and  future  state  —  it  would  wipe 
out  the  usurpated  importance  of  sublunary  things;  and 
we  should  feel,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  that  there  is 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  155 

but  a  step  between  us  and  between  death,  the  grave, 
judgment  and  Heaven,  or  hell,  and — what  throws  a 
mountain-weight  of  importance  into  the  scale  of  all 
this  — that  ETERNITY  which  will  then  seal  our  state,  and 
put  a  period  to  time,  probation,  and  change  forever. 

But  what  if  the  dying  friend  of  our  heart  had  been 
brought  upon  the  bed  of  anguish  and  death  for  our 
sakes  ?  What  if  he  had  saved  us  from  drowning  by 
throwing  himself  after  us  into  the  deep  —  had  seized 
upon  us  with  the  determination  not  to  let  us  go  while  life 
and  strength  remained  in  him  —  was  hastening  into  the 
grave  by  the  consequences  of  over  exertion,  and  wished 
now  to  see  us  once  more,  and  rejoicing  that  we  are  but 
saved,  desired  to  bid  us  the  last  farewell?  What  if  he 
had  rescued  us  from  the  swords  or  guns  of  our  enemies 
that  were  stronger  than  we,  and  was  now  dying  with  the 
deep  and  remediless  wounds  which  he  then  received  .'' 
Or  if  he  had  dashed  through  the  flames  of  our  dwelling  to 
pluck  us  from  the  bed  of  languishing,  and  to  carry  us  out 
into  a  place  of  safety  and  comfort,  and  we,  recovered 
and  in  health,  were  now  called  upon  to  listen  to  his 
dying  groans?  What  a  torrent  of  emotion  would  rush 
upon  us!  Feelings  of  obligation  and  a  sense  of  grati- 
tude due  to  him,  almost  insufferable,  would  overwhelm 
us;  sympathies,  tender  as  the  softest  chord  of  a  mother's 
bosom,  would  thrill  through  every  nerve  of  our  frame; 
and  the  ardent  wish,  now  to  die  for  him,  would  be  but 
the  voice  of  fallen  nature.  All  this,  and  infinitely 
more,  comes  before  us  to-day,  my  friends.  Our  friend 
dieth  —  our  best  friend  in  Heaven  and  on  earth;  our 
brother  dieth  —  our  beloved,  our  faithful  brother;  our 
Lord,  the  Saviour  of  our  perishing  souls,  our  eternal 


156  MEDITATIONS. 

King,  draws  near  the  fatal  hour.  Sorrows  gather 
around  him  like  the  foaming  waves  of  the  ocean;  and 
death,  in  its  most  appalling  form,  death,  in  its  royal 
pomp  of  terror,  death,  with  its  most  chosen  weapons 
of  torture,  has  marched  forth,  stands  in  battle  array 
about  him,  and  has  levelled  the  whole  artillery  of  hell 
at  his  broken  heart.  From  Heaven  he  came  down,  he 
dashed  in  among  the  powers  of  darkness  and  into  the 
jaws  of  death  and  hell,  to  rescue  us  from  thence;  and 
he  did  it.  But  not  without  the  mortal  wound  predicted 
by  the  word  of  prophecy.  He  dies:  he  dies  for  us: 
he  dies  that  we  might  live;  and  he  calls  us  to-day  to 
gather  around  his  dying  bed.  His  dying  bed?  O,  that 
it  was  a  bed!  Alas!  it  is  his  dying  cross  —  a  rough 
block,  to  which  he  is  nailed  in  the  most  painful  position; 
not  a  soft  pillow  on  which  he  rests,  —  it  is  the  shameful, 
painful,  accursed  tree. 

Let  us  draw  near,  then,  with  that  solemnity  of  mind 
befitting  the  scene  of  our  consideration,  and  we  shall 
not  draw  near  in  vain.  Sweet  consolations  and 
comforts,  precious  above  gold  and  pearls,  will  flow 
from  his  wounded  side;  and  the  impressions  which  the 
beauty  of  his  sufferings  and  death  will  then  make  upon 
us,  will  be  such  as  Heaven  and  eternity  will  only 
deepen  and  purify  —  but  never,  never  efface. 

We  shall  have  time  merely  to  pass  over  the  account 
of  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  without  any  farther  subdi- 
vision; and  all  that  I  shall  endeavor  to  do,  will  be  to 
add  such  remarks  to  the  passages  of  Scripture  which 
will  need  to  be  quoted  as  will  give  us  the  shortest 
possible  impression  of  the  event  which  we  are  capable 
of  receiving. 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  157 

The  scene  of  our  present  text  was  preceded  by  the 
capture  of  Christ,  his  arraignment  before  Pilate,  and 
his  condemnation  and  flajjellation.  The  sentence  of 
his  death  was  no  sooner  pronounced,  when,  after  a 
short  repetition  of  the  insults  already  offered  to  him 
previous  to  his  condemnation,  he  was  hurried  to  the 
place  o-f  execution.  This  was  the  usual  practice;  and 
in  this  case  it  became  the  more  necessary,  since  the 
great  feast  of  the  passover  was  close  at  hand. 

Jt  would  be  a  vain  endeavor  to  trace  the  way  by 
which  Christ  went  out  of  the  city;  since  we  are  utterly 
unable  to  tell  where  the  house  of  Pilate  stood.  Nay, 
not  even  of  the  hill  of  Golgotha  has  there  remained  a 
trace  after  the  destruction  of  the  city.  For  the  hill 
now  exhibited   under  that   name  is  far  from   beino-  the 

o 

one;  and  the  awe  with  which  thousands  approach  that 
spot,  and  the  idolatry  which  some  practice  there,  are 
equally  without  the  shadow  of  a  foundation. 

"And  he,  bearing  his  cross,  went  forth;"  so  John. 
This  was  the  custom  of  the  time,  and  a  part  of  the 
punishment.  It  is  probable  that  a  quantity  of  crosses 
were  always  kept  on  hand  by  Pilate,  lying  in  his  yard 
or  standing  in  the  judgment  hall,  and  that  our  Lord 
took  up  the  one  designed  for  him  on  that  spot.  "  And 
there  were  also  two  other  malefactors  led  with  him  to 
be  put  to  death:"     Luke  xxiii,  32. 

A  cross  was  a  block  of  wood,  of  considerable  thick- 
ness, and  sufficiently  high  to  be  driven  at  least  two 
feet  into  the  ground,  and  then  still  to  stand  out  far 
enough  to  raise  the  individual  fastened  upon  it  about 
three  feet   above  the  surface  of  the  earth.     Adding  to 

this,  the  usual  length  of  a  man,  nine  or  ten  feet  of  height 
]4# 


158  MEDITATIONS. 

must  be  allowed  to  a  cross.  To  this  block,  near  the 
upper  end,  was  fastened  a  cross  piece  of  five  or  six 
feet  in  length,  (the  arms  and  the  breast  of  a  man  being 
equal  to  his  height;)  and  thus  the  whole  of  a  cross 
would  amount  to  a  beam  of  timber  from  fifteen  to  six- 
teen feet  in  length. 

No  wonder,  then,  that  our  Lord,  after  the  cruel 
treatment  he  had  experienced  since  the  preceding 
night  and  especially  after  his  horrid  flagellation  and 
the  serious  loss  of  blood  occasioned  by  it,  was  unable 
to  bear  upon  his  lacerated  shoulders  so  considerable  a 
weight  as  his  cross  must  hav^e  been.  Tradition  would 
make  us  believe  that  he  fell  three  times  under  his 
burden.  That  he  did  fall  once,  at  least,  is  in  the 
highest  degree  probable,  from  the  nature  of  the  case, 
even  if  the  tradition  alluded  to  deserves  no  attention. 
At  all  events,  the  aid  which  his  executioners  allowed 
him,  when  they  compelled  Simon  of  Cyrene,  probably 
a  believer,  to  bear,  or  to  help  him  bear,  his  cross, 
evidently  shows  that  he  was  unable  to  proceed  unas- 
sisted with  the  expedition  they  desired;  for  pity,  we 
have  already  seen,  is  not  what  we  can  reasonably 
expect  to  have  led  them  to  this  measure.  Rather  shall 
we  have  to  suppose  that  every  severity  was  previously 
exercised  by  them,  by  way  of  scolding,  pushing  and 
striking,  to  make  him  perform  the  task  unassisted,  and 
they  yielded  only  to  absolute  necessity. 

Notwithstanding  the  early  hour  and  the  approaching 
feast,  Luke  informs  us  "there  followed  him  a  great 
company  of  people,  and  of  women,  which  latter  also 
bewailed  and  lamented  him:"  —  Luke  xxv,  27 — 31, 
Many  of  the  most   intimate   friends  of  our  Lord  must 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  159 

have  been  present  at  Jerusalem  on  account  of  the 
passover.  Many  of  the  pious  women,  too,  who  had 
ministered  unto  him  of  their  substance,  must  have 
been  there.  Some  of  them,  indeed,  we  shall  meet 
hereafter.  When  the  affrighted  disciples  dispersed, 
the  night  previous,  we  must,  of  course,  suppose  that, 
having  no  homes  of  their  own  at  Jerusalem,  they  scat- 
tered abroad,  and  hid  themselves  wherever  they  knew 
a  disciple  of  Christ;  and  it  is  not  even  improbable  that 
some  crossed  the  mount  of  Olives,  to  bear  the  sad 
tidings  to  their  own  and  their  master's  beloved  friends 
at  Bethany.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that,  towards 
the  close  of  the  iniquitous  transactions  at  Pilate's  bar, 
a  considerable  number  of  well-disposed  and  pious 
persons  were  gathered  together.  Their  silent  grief 
and  tears  would  easily  rouse  the  sympathies  of  many 
among  the  people,  whose  pliable  and  unstable  hearts 
yielded  to  every  impression  of  grief  or  joy,  of  serious- 
ness or  dissipation  —  a  class  of  persons  which  has  ever 
been  numerous,  especially  among  the  female  sex;  and 
thus  we  need  not  wonder  that  a  multitude  of  women, 
who  could  just  as  well  laugh  and  sport  the  next  hour, 
now  burst  out  in  weeping  and  wailing  and  lamentations, 
I  do  not  say  that  the  pious  friends  of  Christ  and  the 
godly  women  who  had  supported  him,  did  not  weep. 
I  believe  they  did;  and  what  an  adamantine  heart  must 
that  have  been  which  could  not  be  melted  into  tender 
sorrow  at  the  affecting  sight!  But  excess  of  grief  is 
seldom  the  fault  of  the  pious;  and  the  answer  of  our 
Lord  evidently  concerns  those,  who  with  their  children 
were  to  be  the  unhappy  sharers  in  the  overthrow  of  their 
devoted   city.     "Daughters   of  Jerusalem,   weep   not 


160  MEDITATIONS. 

for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children. 
For  behold,  the  days  are  coming  in  which  they  shall 
say.  Blessed  are  the  barren  and  the  wombs  that  never 
bare  and  the  paps  which  never  gave  suck.  Then  shall 
they  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains.  Fall  on  us;  and  to 
the  hilJs,  Cover  us.  For,  if  they  do  these  things  in  a 
green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry?" 

About  the  third  hour  of  the  day,  according  to  Mark, 
(chapter  xv,  23)  i.  e.  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, they  arrived  at  the  place  of  execution.  According 
to  the  evangelist  John,  (xix,  14,  15)  Christ  was  not 
condemned  until  the  sixth  hour,  and  of  course  could 
not  have  been  upon  Golgotha  at  the  third  hour.  There 
are  manuscripts  which  exhibit  in  John  the  reading:  the 
"  third  hour"  instead  of  "  the  sixth;"  and  the  author 
of  the  '  Alexandrine  Chronicle'  declares  that  in  the 
autograph  of  John,  kept  in  the  church  of  Ephesus,  the 
reading  was  a  tually, —  (fi>'  vja&l  l!joa  tqIti^)  it  was  about 
the  third  hour.  Thus  John  and  Mark  would  a^ree. 
But  be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  easy  to  suppose  that  John 
commenced  his  reckoning  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
night;  perhaps  with  the  time  when  Christ  was  con- 
demned by  the  Sanhedrim;  or  some  other  period  which 
was  prominent  in  his  mind.  At  all  events,  the  state- 
ment of  Mark  is,  that  which  commences  with  the  risins 
sun.  For,  according  to  Matthew  and  Mark,  the  sun 
was  not  darkened  till  about  the  sixth  hour,  and  not, 
too,   until    Christ    had    been   hanffins:    on   the   tree   for 

^  or? 

some  time,  and  abused  by  the  Jews  and  the  people, 
and  until  his  garments  had  been  parted,  and  various 
other  things  had  transpired. 

On  arriving  at  the  place  of  e..xecution,  they  commence 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  161 

by  offering  to  Christ  "  vinegar  mingled  with  gall,"  as 
Matthew  says;  which  is  explained  by  Mark  to  have 
been  "  wine  mingled  with  myrrh."  This  vinegar  (of 
Matthew)  or  wine  (according  to  Mark)  was  the  lowest 
kind  of  wine,  spiced  with  myrrh  for  the  purpose  of 
intoxication.  "When  any  person,"  says  the  Talmud 
of  Babylon,  "was  brought  forth  to  be  put  to  death, 
they  gave  him  to  drink  some  frankincense  in  a  cup  of 
wine,  that  it  might  stupify  him,  as  it  is  said.  Give 
strong  drink  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish,  and  wine 
to  those  that  be  of  heavy  hearts."  And  there  is  a 
tradition,  that  the  gentlewomen  of  Jerusalem  afforded 
this  of  their  good  will.  (Lightf  III.  p.  164.)  Christ 
refused  this  beverage  for  reasons  too  obvious  to  be 
mentioned. 

Then  they  proceed  to  the  crucifixion  without  delay. 
The  cross  I  have  already  described,  as  to  its  shape 
and  size.  The  usual  manner  in  which  malefactors 
were  put  to  the  cross,  was  the  following.  The  cross 
was  first  driven  into  the  ground.  Into  the  perpendic- 
ular post,  about  the  middle,  there  was  driven  a  peg, 
or  wooden  pin,  upon  which  the  victim  was  to  sit  while 
he  remained  on  the  cross,  lest  the  weight  of  his  body 
should  tear  his  hands  from  the  nails,  and  he  fall  down 
to  the  ground.  Then  the  criminal,  stripped  of  his  dress, 
except  something  wound  around  about  the  lower  part  of 
his  body,  by  a  ladder  ascended  the  cross,  or,  if  unable 
or  unwilling  to  do  so,  was  raised  to  it  by  the  execu- 
tioners. He  was  set  upon  the  peg,  his  hands  and  feet 
were  tied  with  ropes  to  their  repective  places,  to 
prevent  motion,  and  then  nails  were  driven  through 
them  into  the  timber,  the  ropes  taken  off  and  th'S 
sufferer  left  to  die, 


162  MEDITATIONS.  J 

Lately,  infidelity  would  make  us  believe  that  to  nail 
the  feet  of  malefactors  to  the  cross  was  never  practised; 
that  their  hands  only  were  fastened  with  nails  but  their 
feet   simply  with   ropes.     The   Christian   church,  it    is 
said,  pretended  that  the  feet  of  Christ  were  nailed  on 
merely  to  save  the    credit   of  a  certain   passage  in  the 
twenty-second  Psalm,  which  they  think  represents  him 
in  that  predi<"anierit.     To  this,  we  reply  that  the  asser- 
tion has  been  made  without  any  proof;   that  the  early 
members  of  the  Christian  church  had  abundant  oppor- 
tunity to  know  the  way  in  which  men  used  to  be  cruci- 
fied;   and  that  the  very  history  of  our  Lord's  resurrec- 
tion proves  positively,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  that 
both  the   hands  and   the  feet  of  Christ  were   nailed   to 
the  cross.     While  the  soldiers  are  nailing  his  hands 
and  feet  to  the  tree,  Christ  offers  up  his  intercessory 
prayers    for  them    and    for  all  who    were   ignorant ly 
engaged  in    his  crucifixion — a  prayer  whose    beauty 
will    never  be  sufficiently  admired.      Christ  being  fast- 
ened  to   the   tree   and    left   by   the   executioners,    and 
while   they  are    putting    up  the  two  thieves,  one  on  his 
right,  the  other  on  his  left,  to  mark  him,  according  to 
the  desire  of  the  high  priest,  as  the  chief  criminal,  there 
was    again    opportunity  for  abuse,  of  which   the   high- 
priests  and  other  bystanders  avail  themselves,  with  a 
readiness   and  zeal  which  would   sink  them  below  the 
beasts  of  the  field,  even  if  their  victim  had  been  guilty 
of  all   with  which  they  falsely  charged   him.     Not   an 
ungenerous,  brutish,  ferocious  spirit  they  exhibit,  but 
an  infernal,  satanic  one;   and  while  the  Roman  soldiers 
fulfill  one  part  of  the  twenty-second  Psalm,  by  dividing 
and    casting    lots    for   Jesus's    garments,   they   fulfill 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  163 

another  part  of  it  by  spitting  out  their  venom  in  the 
very  words  of  that  portion  of  holy  writ.  Our  Lord's 
prophecy  respecting  his  resurection  is  again  distorted 
by  them,  and  made  an  instrument  of  cruel  mockery; 
his  rightful  claims  to  be  the  true  Messiah  and  the 
King  of  Israel,  his  piety  and  trust  in  God;  nay,  his 
innumerable  benefits  bestowed  upon  the  poor,  lost 
sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  for  whom  these  sancti- 
monious hierarchs  cared  nothing;  —  all,  all  is  converted 
into  reproach  and  poison,  and  is  hurled  into  his  face. 
The  innumerable  evidences  he  had  given  of  his  divine 
mission  are  sneered  at;  and  a  boastful  descent  from 
the  cross  —  a  thing  directly  opposed  to  his  heavenly 
spirit  and  his  Father's  will  —  is  mockingly  made  the 
condition  of  their  belief  and  submissien. 

There  they  are,  crowding  around  the  cross  at  a 
distance,  at  most,  of  two  or  three  steps;  and  as  he 
was  raised  but  about  three  feet  from  the  ground,  the 
encounter  must  have  been  a  close  one,  and  he  must 
have  been  able  to  hear  every  whisper  and  hissing,  and 
to  discern  every  spiteful  distortion  of  their  faces. 
Wagging  their  heads,  as  a  sign  of  wonder  and  con- 
tempt, they  rail  at  him,  saying,  "  Ah,  thou  that 
destroyest  the  temple  and  buildest  it  in  three  days, 
save  thyself!  If  thou  be  the  Son  of  God  (i.  e.  the 
Messiah)  come  down  from  the  cross!"  Thus,  those 
who  passed  by.  But  the  high  priests  know  how  to 
wound  him  deeper.  They  talk  to  one  another  in  his 
hearing;  and  their  gestures — you  may  imagine  what 
they  were.  "  He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot 
save.  If  he  be  the  King  of  Israel,  let  him  come  down 
from  the  crogs,  and  we  will   believe    him.     He  trusted 


164  MEDITATIONS. 

in  God;  let  him  deliver  him  now,  if  he  will  have  him; 
for  he   said,  I  am  the  Son  of  God!"  Matthew   xxvii, 
40  —  43.     Yea,  was  the  reply  of  others,   "  Let  Christ, 
the   King   of  Israel,  descend  now  from  the  cross,  that 
we  may  see   and  believe."  Mark  xv.  32.     Like-feeling 
spirits  easily  mingle,   and   hence   the   Roman   soldiers 
and   one   of  the   thieves  heartily   join   them    in   their 
abuses  of  Christ.      "  If  thou   be  the   King   of  Israel, 
save  thyself,"    the  band  exclaims;   and  the  reprobate 
malefactor,   railing   on   him,   roars   out,  saying, —  "If 
thou  be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us."     Luke  xxiii,  39. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  the  penitent  thief  received 
the   pardon  of  his   sins    and    the   promise  of  Heaven. 
This  subject,  however,  forming,  as  it  will,  our  next  medi- 
tation, must  now  be  passed  over  in  silence.     After  some 
hours  of  abuse,  many  of  the  Jews  must  have  been  called 
away  by  the  preparations  of  the  feast,  or  else  they  had 
spent  their  rage.     Then  some  of  the   beloved  of  our 
Lord  were  permitted  to  draw  near  his  cross.     "  There 
stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  his  mother,  and  his  mother's 
sister,  Mary,  the  wife  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary  Magda- 
lene and   the   disciple,"  i.  e.  John.     Turning   his  eyes 
to  his  mother  and  his  beloved  disciple,  he  recommends 
her  to  the  care  of  the  pious  youth.     This  was  probably 
near  noon,  and  Christ  had  hardly  made  provision  for 
his  aged  mother  when  darkness  without  and   darkness 
within  filled  the  cup  of  his  sufferings.      "  Now  from  the 
sixth  hour  (noon)  there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land 
unto   the    ninth   hour."     (Matthew,  Mark  and  Luke.) 
This  dreadful  darkness  of  three  hours  was  the  prepara- 
tion for  a  powerful  earthquake,  which,  however,  proba- 
bly ^id  not  precede,  but  followed  the  death  of  Christ. 


THE    SCENE    OP    GOLGOTHA.  165 

It  was  not  an  ordinary  eclipse  of  the  sun,  for  it  was 
now  the  full  moon.  During  near  the  whole  time  of 
darkness,  Christ  seems  to  have  been  silent,  as  also  his 
afflicted  friends  who  stood  near  the  cross  weeping  and 
mourning.  The  revilings  both  of  the  Jews  and  the 
Romans  seem  to  have  ceased,  and  an  awful  waiting  of 
what  was  to  come  next,  seems  to  have  suspended  every 
exercise  of  their  minds  and  stopped  their  mouths. 

But   so  much  the  more   powerful  were  the   inward 
workings  of  the  mind  of  Christ.     A  new  trial,  equally 
unexpected  and  terrible,  draws  near;   inward   desertion 
of  God.     Before  the  Sanhedrim,  Pilate,  and  Herod,  he 
had  exhibited  all   the  dignity  of  suffering  holiness;    by 
the  way,  as  he  was  bending  under  his  heavy  cross,  he 
had  yet  sympathies  for  the  perishing  nalion,  and  could 
declare  that  his  condition,  that  of  oppressed  innocence, 
was   preferable  to  theirs,  which  was   that   of  suffering 
wickedness   and   unbelief.      On   being     nailed    to  the 
cross,   he  could  yet  say,  Father,  forgive  them;   under 
the  abuses  of  the  Jews  and   the   heathen,    he    felt  yet 
that  his  judgment  was   with   the   Lord,  and   his   work 
acceptable  with   hi^   God;    and    he  had   yet  a  Paradise 
to  hope  for,  and  to  impart  to  a  repenting  sinner;   and 
a  few  minutes   before   the   darkness   spread    over  the 
land  he  had  calmness  of  mind   sufficient  to  provide  for 
the   temporal   comforts   of  his    mother.     But   noio   his 
mind   is   overwhelmed    with   distressing    doubts.      He 
knows  no  more  what  to  think  of  himself,  of  his  Father 
in  Heaven,   of  his   cause,  of  his   own   sufferings   and 
death,    of   his    doctrine,    of  his    prospects,    of  God's 
promises,  of  this  perishing  world.      In  vain  he  struggles 
for  light  and  assurance;   cloud  upon  cloud  rises,  billow 
15 


166  MEDITATIONS. 

upon  billow  rushes  towering  over  his  soul,  deep  upon 
deep  gapes  to  swallow  him  up.  His  breast  is  full  to 
bursting,  and  out  of  the  abundance  of  his  heart  his 
mouth  speaketh.  And  what  do  you  think  he  spoke? 
"  And  about  the  ninth  hour  (three  o'clock)  Jesus  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani? 
that  is  to  say,  my  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?"  (Matthew  xxvii,  46.)  He  dares  not  say,  my 
Father!  he  calls  him  his  God,  a  disconsolate  excla- 
mation. True  he  calls  him,  my  God.  Every  believer 
who  has  experienced  something  like  it,  knows  w^hat  I 
say.  God  is  the  God  of  every  creature;  he  is,  and 
ever  will  be  the  God  of  fallen  spirits  — but  alas!  their 
angry,  their  offended  God;  and  to  say,  my  God,  may 
be  saying,  my  Judge,  my  devouring  fire,  my  almighty 
enemy.  Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  desertion 
of  God  was  felt  only  in  hell,  and  that  therefore  Christ 
must  have  have  experienced  its  torments  then;  but  this 
is  more  than  I  find  inthe  text.  Some  make  his  cru- 
cifixion and  death,  the  desertion  of  our  God;  but  this 
he  knew  before  would  come,  and  had  long  expected. 
It  was  the  hiding  of  God's  countenance,  the  utter 
absence  of  his  presence,  spiritual  darkness  and 
drought,  accompanied  as  it  always  is  by  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  adversary  hurled  by  torrents  into  the  distressed 
soul.  But  what  such  darkness  and  separation  from 
Heaven  must  have  been  to  him  who  had  always  enjoyed 
the  light  of  God's  countenance,  I  do  not  presume  to 
conjecture. 

It  does  not,  however,  seem  to  have  been  necessary 
for  our  salvation,  nor  proper  in  the  judgment  of  the 
Holy  One,   that   his   equally  holy   child   Jesus   should 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  167 

remain  long  in  this  disconsolate  condition.  Soon  the 
darkness  passes;  but  only  to  render  him  sensible  to 
another,  and  indeed  to  the  most  distressing  natural 
inconvenience  attending  crucifixion  —  to  thirst.  Pain  is 
conditioned  upon  the  existence  of  nerves,  and  our  hands 
and  feet  belong  to  those  parts  of  our  frame  in  which 
the  greatest  number  of  nerves  converge.  The  wounds 
therefore  inflicted  upon  the  hands  and  feet  of  the 
man,  who  was  crucified,  soon  excited  a  high  and 
scorching  wound-fever.  It  is  peculiar  to  the  wound- 
fever  to  break  down  effectually  the  spirit  of  man;  and 
there  is  no  hero  known  who,  on  being  seized  by  it, 
did  not  become  the  most  trembling  coward,  and  take 
to  the  most  precipitate  flight,  if  he  could.  But  the 
thirst  of  those  condemned  to  crucifixion  raged  with  a 
force  quite  peculiar  to  their  state.  The  soldiers  are 
now  sitting  and  wondering  at  what  they  see  and  hear, 
and  suggest  to  each  other,  whether  he  had  not  called 
the  prophet  Elijah,  and  whether  Elijah  would  come 
and  deliver  him:  for  they,  not  understanding  Hebrew, 
necessarily  mistook  the  sense  of  our  Lord's  exclama- 
tion. Then  "  Jesus  knowing  that  all  things  were  now 
accomplished,  that  the  scriptures  might  be  fulfilled, 
saith,  1  thirst."  (John  xix,  28.)  The  soldiers  hearing 
this,  one  of  them  runs  to  a  vessel  filled  with  the  most 
common  wine,  and  putting  a  sponge  upon  the  reed  6f  a 
hissop,  (which  grows  rather  larger  in  Palestine  than 
with  us,  and  yields  a  feeble  reed  of  two  or  three  feet  in 
length)  he  fills  the  sponge  with  wine  and  puts  it  to  the 
mouth  of  Christ  that  he  might  suck  it  out.  This  wine 
is  a  different  beverage  from  that  which  our  Lord 
refused  to  take  before  his  crucifixion,  and  contained 


168  medit^lTions. 

no  myrrh.  ''When  Jesus  had  received  the  vinegar, 
(i.  e.  the  wine)  he  said,  It  is  fulfilled,  (John  xix,  30.) 
Then  crying  out  with  a  loud  voice,  he  said.  Father,  into 
thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit:  and  having  said  thus, 
he  bowed  his  head  (John  xix,  31)  and  gave  up  the 
ghost.  (Luke  xxiii,  46.)  Then  the  earth  was  shaken, 
rocks  in  diverse  places  were  rent,  and  graves  opened, 
and  the  inner  vail  of  the  temple  which  separated 
the  sanctuary  from  the  holy  of  holies  was  torn  in  two 
pieces.  The  centurion  and  his  band  affrighted  gave 
glory  to  God,  saying,  "  Certainly  this  was  a  righteous 
man;  truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God:  and  many  of  the 
people  beholding  the  things  which  were  done,  smote 
their  breasts  and  returned."   (Luke  xxiii,  48.) 

"  The  Jews,  therefore,  because  it  was  the  prepara- 
tion that  the  bodies  should  not  remain  upon  the  cross 
on  the  Sabbath  day,  (for  that  Sabbath  day  was  an  high- 
day,)  besought  Pilate  that  their  legs  might  be  broken, 
and  that  they  might  be  taken  away.  Then  came  the 
soldiers  and  break  the  legs  of  the  first  and  of  the  other 
which  was  crucified  with  him.  But  when  they  came 
to  Jesus  and  saw  that  he  was  dead  already,  they  break 
not  his  legs.  But  one  of  the  soldiers  with  a  spear 
pierced  his  side,  and  forthwith  came  there  out  blood 
and  water.  And  he  that  saw  it  bare  record  and  his 
record  is  true,  and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith  true,  that 
ye  might  believe.  For  these  things  were  done  that 
the  scripture  should  be  fulfilled,  a  bone  of  him  shall 
not  be  broken.  And  again  another  scripture  saith : 
They  shall  look  on  him  whom  they  have  pierced." 
(John  xix,  31—37.) 

Thus  died  he  who  brought  salvation  to  this  perishing 


THE    SCENE    OP    GOLGOTHA.  169 

world.     He  came  poor,  and   poor  he  went  out  of  this 

world;   with  wounds  and   stripes   and  with  a  wreath  of 

thorns  around   his    head.      Extended   on  the  cross  he 

finished  his   course;   but  he   left  behind   him  the  rich 

legacy  of  a  boundless  and  eternal  salvation  to  all  who 

repent  and  believe.     The  reality  of  his  death  has  been 

doubted   by   some;    but  by  such   men   and   upon  such 

grounds,  that   we    need   not  feel   any  concern   on  the 

subject.     It   rests  with  us   on   the   sure   foundation    of 

the  divine  word;    it  was   predicted   by  the   prophets   of 

old    and    by    Christ    himself;     it    was   witnessed    and 

attested    by  impartial  and  quite  incredulous  witnesses; 

it  is  either   asserted    or   assumed   in   every   book,  and 

almost  on  every   page  of  the   New  Testament;   it  was 

firmly   maintained  by    the   primitive   Christians  in  the 

face    of  Jews   and   Heathen;     it   was   silently   though 

unwillingly  acknowledged    by  the   bitterest  enemies  of 

the  truth.     In  addition   to   all  this,   however,  when  we 

shall   come  to  the   history  of  our   Lord's  resurrection, 

I   shall  bring  forward    such  evidence  as  will  show  the 

inherent  absurdity  of  every  contrary  hypothesis. 

Various  and  delightful  are  the  reflections  and  com- 
forts  which  cluster  around   the  cross  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour.     1  will  briefly  indicate  a  few,  and  then  close. 
1.     Many  and  great  are  our  comforts  on  the  bed  of 
languor  and  death. 

How  enviable  is  our  situation  at  the  very  time  when 
stretched  on  a  bed  of  anguish  and  death  we  think  to 
be  overwhelmed  with  sorrow,  if  we  compare  it  but  for 
a  moment  with  the  situation  of  Christ.  Usually  there 
is  with  us  the  comfortable  room,  there  is  the  con- 
venient bed,  the  soft  pillow,  the  soothing  medicine, 
15* 


170  MEDITATIONS. 

the    refreshing    drink.       There    is   the    careful   wife, 
the     anxious     husband,     the     affectionate     child,    the 
experienced     mother,    the    faithful     friend,    the     able 
physician    around    our    bed,    taxing    every   power    of 
invention  to    alleviate    our   sorrows;  —  as  though   the 
tears  they  hide,  the  sighs  they  suppress,  as  though  the 
deep  thrill  of  tenderest  sympathy  which  animates  every 
whisper  of  their  voice  were  not  already  more  precious, 
more  stored  with  healing    power  that  all  the   spices   of 
India   and  the    productions  of  European  science;   and 
often  while  a  stranger  and  far  from  friends  and  kindred, 
a  merciful  Samaritan  is  led  by  and  pours  oil  and  wine 
into  our  wounds.      If  we  choose  to  have  it  so,  there   is 
also  the  word   of  God,  the  voice  of  prayer,  the  conso- 
lations   of  the    gospel,    ministering   spirits    encircling 
our  bed ;   the  love  of  Jesus,  the  hope  of  Heaven  through 
his   blood.     By  a  merciful  dispensation,  the   distracted 
world   then    flees,   our  enemies   are   out   of  sight,   the 
whole  world   seems  to  consist  of  a  few  loving   friends, 
because   no  others    approach   our  couch.     True,  here 
you   see   a  Swartz,    after   near  fifty  years    of  faithful 
and   hard    missionary  labor,   dying   with   excruciating 
pain;   there  a  Christian,  like   Thomas  Scott,  struggles 
for  a   hope    of    Heaven   until     his    thickening     blood 
already     gathers    around     his    heart    and    circulation 
begins  to  stop;   in  yonder  hovel   you  find  stretched  out 
in  a  corner  on  the  ground,  alone,  unheeded,  a  Martyn, 
dying  the  death  of  the  righteous.     Often  indeed   it  is 
true,  what   the    prophet   Isaiah  testifieth,    (Ivii,    1,2): 
*'The   righteous   perisheth,    and   no   man  layeth   it  to 
heart;   and  merciful  men  are  taken  away,  and   no  man 
considereth  :" — but  what  follows,  does  also  hold  true  : 


THE    SCENE    OF    GOLGOTHA.  171 

"  The  righteous  is  taken  away  from  the  evil  to  come. 
He  shall  enter  into  peace,  and  all  who  have  walked  in 
uprightness  rest  in  their  beds."  Either  external,  or 
internal  comforts,  but  usually  both,  are  administered 
to  the  suffering  and  dying  believer.  Jesus's  faith- 
fulness and  love  will  not  let  him  expire  in  utter  dark- 
ness and  destitution;  and  never  have  I  heard  of  that 
Christian  who  exclaimed  like  unto  him  :  My  God,  my 
God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  He  may  be  tried 
hard  ;  destitution  without  and  within  may  oppress  and 
afflict  him  ;  but  a  secret  and  faithful  hand  will  bear 
him  up,  and  bear  him  through,  and  before  his  soul 
leaves  her  tenement  of  clay,  he  will  return  answer  to 
himself,  saying  :  Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O  my  soul, 
and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me  ?  Hojje  thou  in 
God:  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him,  who  is  the  health  of 
my  countenance  and  my  God." 

But  what  shall  I  say,  fellow  Christians,  of  our  fret- 
fulness,  our  impatience  on  the  bed  of  languor,  our 
unmindfulness  of  our  many  comforts  even  then,  and  of 
the  many  services  of  love  we  are  receiving,  and  of  all 
of  which  our  Lord  was  destitute  ?  Ah,  we  had  lost 
sight  of  Calvary  then;  and  well  may  we  hide  our 
blushing  countenances  in  the  dust,  as  we  look  up  to 
Him.  Break  it  down,  that  wicked  and  unbroken  spirit 
of  self-will  and  fretfulness;  break  it  down  by  the  cross 
of  Christ.  It  will  not  do  for  us  to  harbor  that  evil 
demon  in  our  breasts  after  we  have  seen  how  Jesus 
suffered  and  died.  O  may  death  find  us  in  the  exercise 
of  meek  submission  and  with  the  sweet  petition  on  our 
tongues.  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commit  my  spirit. 

2.     Jesus  can   perfectly  sympathise  with   us  to   our 
last  expiring  breath. 


172  MEDITATIONS. 

1  have  but  little  to  say  on  this  reflection.  To  reason, 
it  seems  that  God  must  know  our  afflictions,  and  be 
able  to  sympathise  with  us  without  having  himself  the 
experience  of  them,  and  even  to  him  who  admits  it  on 
the  authority  of  revelation  that  we  did  need  such  an 
high-priest,  the  idea  has  but  little  if  any  savor.  Here 
distress  and  trouble,  the  sick  bed,  the  dying  bed  must 
be  the  interpreters  and  the  preachers  of  the  word; 
and  I  can  only  say  :  remember  this  truth  when  you 
are  draAving  near  unto  death,  and  see  whether  it  will 
not  yield  you  comforts,  whether  it  will  hold  out  or  not 
when  all  human  consolations  fail. 

r  3.  Sorrows  and  spiritual  darkness,  which  sometimes 
attend  the  dying  bed  of  a  Christian,  are  no  evidence 
either  against  the  truth  itself,  or  against  his  own 
Christian  character;  and  the  easy  death  of  the  infidel 
proves  neither  the  truth  of  infidelity  nor  the  goodness 
of  his  heart. 

The  impenitent  criminal  on  the  cross  experienced 
no  hidings  of  God's  countenance,  and  not  a  word  of 
concern  or  anxiety  about  the  past  or  the  future 
escapes  his  lips.  Not  even  the  dreadfiil  torment  of  the 
cross  could  humble  him  -sufficiently  to  make  him 
refrain  from  sin  and  blasphemy,  and  probably  he  has 
never  since  stopped  cursing  and  blaspheming.  But 
the  holy  Saviour  is  full  of  distress,  and  anguish,  and 
mourning.  It  is  indeed  the  legitimate  effect  of  "  a 
good  hope  through  grace"  to  sustain  the  sinking  spirits 
when  heart  and  flesh  fail ;  and  it  is  no  more  than 
natural,  that  the  absorbing  interest  of  earthly  things 
should  vanish  and  leave  the  soul  empty  and  the  bosom 
desolate  when  the   honest   hour  of  death  draws  near, 


THE    SCENE    OP    GOLGOTHA.  173 

and  eternity  pours  its  peering  light  upon  the  titles, 
treasures  and  lusts  of  this  perishing  world.  Moreover, 
we  know  that  God  is  with  his  people  in  life  and  death, 
but  that  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite  and  the  worldly  man 
will  perish  when  God  taketh  away  the  soul.  Yet  who 
can  doubt,  that  deep-rooted  self-righteousness,  brute 
stupidity,  or  strong*  and  refined  stoicism  may  not  cleave 
to  the  dying  sinner  until  the  light  of  eternity  reveal  to 
him  his  character,  and  the  flames  of  hell  his  doom  ; 
while  the  trembling  believer  on  closing  his  weeping  eyes 
upon  this  world,  may  hear  the  unexpected  invitation, 
Well  done  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into  the 
joy  of  thy  Lord  !  Let  us  not  boast  too  much  of  the 
joyful  death  of  many  a  pious  soul,  but  rather  be  humbly 
grateful  for  it.  It  is  a  gift  of  God,  which  he  may 
bestow  or  withhold.  Let  us  rather  see  to  it,  all  ye 
who  hear  me,  that  we  breathe  the  spirit  of  Jesus  now, 
and  the  abundant  entrance  into  the  everlasting  kingdom 
of  our  God  will  not  fail  us,  whether  our  death  be  try- 
ing or  triumphant. 

4.  We  ought  spiritually  to  die  to  the  world  and  all 
its  vanities. 

Paul  professes  to  be  by  the  cross  of  Christ  crucified 
to  the  world;  i.  e.  as  dead  to  its  allurements  as  a 
crucified  man  would  be, — and  the  world  to  be  crucified 
unto  him,  i.  e.  utterly  incapable  of  charming  him 
any  longer.  (Galatians  vi,  14,)  —  "They  that  are 
Christians  have  crucified  their  flesh  with  the  sinful 
aflfections  and  lusts;"  chapter  v,  !24.- — i.  e.  they  have 
broken  down  by  the  power  of  God  their  ruling  influence 
over  them.  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ!"  —  he 
exclaims  in  another  place;    "  nevertheless,  I  live^  yet 


174  MEDITATIOx\S. 

not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me;"  chapter  ii,  20.     Similar 

semiments   are  scattered  over  the  pages   of  the  bible 

everywhere.     The    death  of  Christ  does  not   excuse 

us  from  dying  to  our  lusts,  but  it  renders  this  possible; 

it  shows  its  propriety;   it  implies  it;   it  recommends  it  ; 

nay,  it  absolutely  commands   it,  and  with  a  voice,  too, 

more    powerful  than  the    combined  thunders  of  Sinai. 

To  sin  under  the  old  dispensation  was  to  transgress  the 

law;   to  sin  under   the    new,  is  to   transgress  the  law, 

»  and  to  crucify  the  Son  of  God.     He  died  for  sin;   we 

5  must  die  to  sin.     And   blessed   be   God  !  now  we   can 

I  do  it.     The  enemy  is   conquered;   the   new  and  living 

*  way  is   open;    the    vail  of  the  holy  of  holies  is   torn 

asunder;    our   graves  are  open;    Christ  and  his  merits 

and  his  omnipotent  Spirit  are  ours. 

5.     Once    more.     There   is    no   rest,    no  peace    of 
heart  except  under  the  cross,  and  in  the  cross. 

There  is  no  rest  except  under  the  cross.  There  is 
no  satisfaction,  no  peace  of  mind  to  the  expected, 
except  there.  I  know  on  hearing  this  the  worlding 
will  point  me  to  his  diversion,  and  pleasure,  the  dirt 
in  which  he  delights  to  wallow;  the  ambitious  to  his 
acquired  or  desired  greatness,  fame,  titles,  etc. ; 
the  avaricious  to  his  yellow  dust;  the  scholar  to  his 
rich  and  boundless  field  of  literature  and  science.  But 
I  repeat  it,  there  is  no  rest,  no  peace,  no  satisfaction, 
except  under  the  cross  of  Christ.  For  there  is  in  the 
human  breast  a  set  of  slumbering  wants  which  stretch 
themselves  infinitely  beyond  all  the  boasted  glories  of 
this  world,  and  leave  stars,  comets  and  galaxies  at  an 
interminable  distance  beneath  their  feet.  There  are 
eyes   planted   in  the  heart,  which   must  be  filled  with 


THE     SCENE    OP    GOLGOTHA.  175 

the  glories  of  a  world  of  spirit  «f  and  holiness,  or  they 
will  forever  grate  upon  their  sockets  and  rouse  insuf- 
ferable anguish.  There  is  a  thirst,  a  hunger,  linger- 
ing unheeded  in  the  deep  recesses  of  the  spirit, 
which  is  not  to  be  hushed  forever  into  silence  by  the 
highway  din  of  carnal  desires  and  worldly  dissipation, 
or  drudgery,  and  which  must  be  satisfied  with  the  bread 
and  water  of  life,  or  eternal  starvation  will  inevitably 
follow. 

There  is  no  rest  only  in  the  cross;  in  the  giving  up 
of  every  wrong,  self-seeking  desire,  of  every  idol,  and 
darling  sin  within  and  without  us.  To  be  nothing  in 
this  world,  to  wish  for  nothing  but  Christ,  to  know 
nothing  but  Christ,  to  have  nothing  but  him,  —  is  per- 
fect freedom,  perfect  health,  eternal  wealth,  supreme 
wisdom,  irresistible  and  holy  power,  transcending  and 
real  dignity,  the  satisfaction  of  every  want,  the  filling 
up  of  the  deep  and  vacant  pit  of  all  our  spiritual 
desires,  and  endless  rest. 


MEDITATIONS. 


VIII. 

THE  PENITENT  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS. 


LUKE    XXIII.  39  —  43. 

And  one  of  the  malefactors  wliich  were  hanged  railed  on  hun,  saying,  If  thou 
be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us.  But  the  other  answering,  rebuked  him,  saying 
Dost  not  thou  fear  God,  seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation?  And  we 
indeed  justly;  for  we  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds  j  but  this  man  hath 
done  nothing  amiss.  And  he  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  remember  me  when  thou 
comest  into  thy  kingdom.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  To- 
day thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  paradise. 


I  SHALL  endeavor  at  this  time  to  make  my  hearers 
acquainted  more  than  they  have  been  hitherto,  per- 
haps, with  the  poor,  penitent  thief  on  the  cross.  In 
any  other  place,  this  might  indeed  be  an  unpardonable 
offence  against  the  rules  of  propriety  ;  but  in  the 
house  of  God,  where  the  etiquette  of  Heaven  alone 
rules  and  dictates,  not  a  word,  even  of  apology,  I  trust, 
will  be  needed.  In  drawing  his  picture,  I  shall  speak, 
-16 


178  MEDITATIONS. 

I.  Of  his  wicked  life. 

II.  Of  his  repentance. 

III.  Of  his  faith,   and 

IV.  Of  his  ready  acceptance  with  Christ. 

I.  Of  his  wicked  life.  "  The  way  of  the  wicked  is 
as  darkness,"  saith  Solomon,  —  dark  in  its  beginning, 
darker  in  its  progress,  darkest  ih  its  catastrophe. 
Where  the  usual  restraints  are  taken  away,  the  way 
of  the  wicked  man  begins  with  the  degrading  service 
of  those  senses  which  he  has  in  common  with  the 
brutes;  then  he  goes  on  to  a  conscious  violation  of 
known  and  acknowledged  obligations  and  moral  pre- 
cepts; then  to  a  dull  insensibility  to  them;  then  to 
an  instinctive  disinclination  to  them;  then  to  a  de- 
liberate hatred  against  him  Vvho  gave  those  precepts; 
then  to  open  enmity  towards  those  who  obey  them,  and 
in  fine,  towards  everything  holy,  just  and  good.  The 
character  itself  is  ever  the  same;  but  the  degrees  of 
development  differ,  gathering  blackness  as  they  ap- 
proach the  spirit  of  hell  to  which  they  are  verging. 

Thus  the  prodigal  son  of  our  text.  He  had  wasted 
a  life  in  the  service  of  Satan.  We  meet  him  on  his 
way  to  death,  a  disturber  of  public  peace,  a  terror  to 
the  innocent,  an  abomination  to  the  upright,  at  a  heav- 
en-wide distance  from  God  and  holiness,  a  despiser  both 
of  divine  and  of  human  laws,  unworthy  to  live  even 
in  a  world  like  this,  where  a  thousand  acts  of  wicked- 
ness may  be  perpetrated  unpunished.  And  yet  his 
language  bears  a  close  analogy  to  the  language  of  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  best 
commentators  agree  that  he  was  a  Jew.     Hence,  it  is 


THE    PENITENT    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  179 

probable  in  the  highest  degree  that  he  enjoyed  early 
religious  advantages.  Faint  recollections  of  divine 
truth  seem  to  play  around  his  memory;  stifled  feelings 
and  half-effaced  impressions  of  past  times  seem  to  be 
struggling  now  for  that  influence  over  his  mind  and 
heart,  which  they  hg^d  so  long  and  so  unjustly  been 
denied.  How  often  may  they  have  pleaded  for  that  share 
of  attention  which  they  deserved,  but  in  vain.  Every 
good  thought  of  that  man  had  been  crushed  from  his 
youth  up;  every  religious  privilege  despised;  every 
offer  of  mercy  from  within  and  from  without  neglected; 
God  and  his  word  set  aside;  his  Sabbaths  profaned; 
his  people  and  his  sanctuary  carefully  shunned,  and 
bad  company,  profaneness,  riot,  and  gambling  pre- 
ferred. Had  the  poor  wandering  youth  pious  parents? 
They  arp  perhaps  grieved  to  death.  The  tears  and 
entreaties  of  his  godly  mother  provoked  but  his  impa- 
tience; the  remonstrances  of  his  father,  his  indignation; 
the  rebukes,  yea,  the  very  presence  of  pious  people, 
his  hatred;  public  laws,  his  revenge;  the  laws  of  God, 
his  blasphemies.  He  began,  like  all  the  rest  of  for- 
lorn wretches,  with  sins  of  the  heart;  then  came  unre- 
strained language;  then  the  so  called  small  deviations 
of  youth;  until  driven  from  society  he  plunged  himself 
into  that  whirlpool  of  crimes  where  man  becomes  the 
proper  bond-slave  of  Satan  and  a  curse  and  terror  to 
his  fellow-men. 

This  indeed  is  substantially  the  history  of  thousands 
of  every  sex,  age,  rank  and  description,  whose  dying 
beds  the  minister  of  Christ  has  to  attend.  In  the  silent 
hour  of  midnight,  perhaps,  he  is  called.  With  hasty 
steps  he  proceeds  to  the  solemn  place  marked   by  the 


180  MEDITATIONS. 

solitary  night-lamp,  where  an  immortal  being  is  about 
to  change  worlds.  And  what  is  the  scene  he  meets? 
There  lies  a  poor,  distressed  sinner,  ready  to  breathe 
his  last.  His  physicians  have  given  him  up;  his  gay 
friends  have  taken  their  leave,  and  shun  his  sick-bed 
like  death  —  a  few  hirelings  excc'pted,  who  hope  to  be 
his  heirs;  the  card-table,  the  drinking-table  are  upset; 
the  candles  of  the  ball-room  are  quenched;  and  the 
viol,  the  timbrel,  and  the  harp  of  his  riotous  feasts  are 
silent  forever;  the  busy  world  has  forgotten  him;  life 
has  lost  its  deceitful  charms,  its  usurped  importance; 
eternity  draws  near.  His  early  lot  God  had  caused  to 
fall  in  pleasant  places,  intending  to  give  him  a  goodly 
heritage  in  his  kingdom  hereafter.  Pious  parents, 
good  society,  the  privileges  of  the  sanctuary,  the  word 
of  God,  many  a  faithful  admonition  of  conscience, 
in  short,  a  thousand  calls  from  Heaven  marked  his 
youthful  days.  But  the  world  called  on  the  other  side 
and  promised,  what  it  is  neither  able  nor  willing  to 
give,  happiness,  greatness,  satisfaction.  The  sensual 
youth  doubted,  listened,  endeavored  the  impossible  and 
absurd  task  of  serving  two  masters;  he  cannot  bear  to 
give  up  the  world  all  at  once,  as  the  Bible  requires  it; 
he  wants  to  enjoy  himself  a  little  while ;  he  is  caught. 
His  thoughtfulness,  if  any  he  had,  wears  out;  his 
strength  to  resist  the  evil  one  fails;  nay,  he  begins  to  like 
his  baits;  doubts  respecting  the  reality  of  religion  fill 
his  mind;  the  darkness  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  the 
imperfection  of  pious  people,  the  pressure  of  business, 
and  ten  thousand  other  lying  refuges  are  resorted  to; 
the  world  gathers  numberless  and  resistless  charms; 
the  tempter  doubles  his  offers,  and  the  deluded  sinner 


THE    PENITENT    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  181 

strikes   hands,   and     bidding    deliberately  farewell   to 
Christ  and  his  cross,  he  follows   on  straightway  as  ah 
ox   goeth  to   the   slaughter;   he   serves  the   flesh,   the 
world,  and  the  devil.     Awhile   he  feels  himself  great 
and     happy;    his    course,    especially   when    compared 
with  that  of  the   humble  and   despised  Jesus   and  his 
followers,  seems   to   be  an   honorable,  interesting    and 
delightful   one;    until   God    lays    his   hand   upon  him; 
until  sickness,  death,    the  grave,    eternity,  judgment, 
and   endless  retribution  stare  into  his  face.     But  then, 
O  then  ! — his   greatness,  his  riches,  his   learning,  his 
pleasures,  his  dissipations,  his  idle  schemes  and  plans 
for  many  days  to  come  —  all  are  vanished  like  a  morn- 
ing dream,  like  smoke.     Now  he  wants  to  repent.     He 
sends  for  ministers,  he  looks  for  his  Bible,  he  wants  to 
hear   the  voice   of    prayer.      He   wants   to  be   saved. 
But   it   is  vain,  too   late  —  too   late.     The   spark   of  a 
better  conscience  is  effectually  and  forever  quenched; 
the  irrevokable    sentence  of  reprobation  is   past  in  the 
court  of  Heaven,  and  sealed  with  the  seal  of  eternity; 
like  Esau  he  seeks  repentance  and  finds  none.     Despair 
strangles  him  on  his  pillow,  and  malicious  spirits  from 
beneath    goad   his   mad  and   raving  soul  down  to   hell, 
where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  where  the   fire  is  not 
quenched.      A    few   moments    he  was  glittering   with 
delusive     brightness     on  the    firmament     of    polished 
society;   now  he   goes  down  like  a  wandering   star  to 
the  blackness  of  darkness  forever,  and  no  minister,  no 
Bible,   no   prayer,    no   sacrament   can  save   him  from 
eternal  ruin  ! 

This  is  the  lot  of  thousands,  and  tens  of  thousands; 
but,  thanks  be  to  God  for  his  sovereign   power  and 
16* 


182  MEDITATIONS.  i 

grace  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  not  the   lot  of  all.     Saul 
sins,  and  dies  without  repentance;   David  sins  too,  but 
sues  for  pardon  and  receives  it.     Ahab   serves  Baalim 
and  dies  without  repentance;  Manasseh  serves  them 
too,  but  repents  and   is  forgiven.     Among  soldiers,  we 
meet  with  the   centurion   and   with   Cornelius,  among 
publicans     with    Matthew    and    Zacheus,   among    the 
Pharisees   with   Nicodemus,    among   magistrates   with 
Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  among    dissolute  women  with 
the   woman   "which   was  a   sinner,"    but   unto    whom 
much  was  forgiven    because  she    loved    much;   among 
those  who    deny  the  Lord  that   bought  them,  we  meet 
with  Peter;   among  the   persecutors   of  the   people   of 
God,  with  Paul;    among   thieves   and   murderers,  with 
the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross.     O  for  eyes  to  behold 
the   innumerable  host   of  poor,   but   forgiven   sinners 
around  mount  Zion  above  !    Numbers  without   number 
uttering  joy,  gratitude    and   everlasting    praise  !     But 
could  we  see  them,  and  hear  their  holy  song,  the  eye 
of  our  penitent  sinner  would  burn  with  no  inferior  flame, 
and  his  voice   would   not   be  found  the   lightest   in  the 
harmony  of  Heaven. 

II,  Of  his  repentance.  What  his  state  of  mind  was 
while  he  was  imprisoned  and  on  his  way  to  the  place 
of  execution,  we  are  not  told.  But  while  it  is  quite 
probable  that  he  was  not  altogether  thoughtless,  it  is 
certain  too,  that  he  had  no  adequate  conception  of  his 
guilt  and  danger.  Had  he  known  himself,  his  eyes 
would  have  been  opened  to  see  and  to  knov/  his  Saviour 
also  walking  near  him,  bearing  the  sins  of  the  world; 
and  he  would  not    have    deferred    securing    his   own 


THE  PENITENT  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS.       183 

salvation,  to  near  the  last  minute  of  his  life.  But  the 
poor  man  was  ignorant  of  his  own  condition,  and  how 
could  he  know  him  who  reveals  himself  only  to  the 
broken  and  contrite  in  heart.  So  blinded  are  we  by 
nature,  that  the  most  heinous  crimes  committed  by  us 
cannot  truly  impress  us  with  our  state  of  2;uilt  and 
condemnation  before  God,  And  this  is  the  chief 
reason  why  Christ  remains  unknown  to  most  even  of 
those  in  whose  ears  his  name  is  ringing  every  day.  Let 
us  pray  for  a  knowledge  of  ourselves,  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  will  follow  soon  and  certainly  enough. 

Our  melancholy  procession   has  arrived  at  the  place 
of  execution,  the  crosses   are  raised    and   fixed   in  the 
ground;   the   victims    are    fastened   to  them,  Christ   in 
the  middle  as  the  chief  criminal.     Now  a  horrible  scene 
begins,  at  which  Heaven  wept,  and  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness shouted  for  joy.     The  pharisees,  the  high  priests 
and  the  people   begin  to  mock   and   curse   Christ,  the 
poor  defenceless  victim  of  their  rage.     They  challenge 
him  to  come   down   from  the  cross,    and   laugh   him  to 
scorn  that  he  had  saved  so  many  others,  and  was  unable 
(as  they  thought)  to  save  himself.     The  two  murderers 
remained  unabused,    you  observe,  for  the  world  loveth 
her  own,  in  a  measure,  even  to  the  end.     Christ  makes 
no  reply,  shows  no   resentment,  no   feeling   moves  his 
breast,  except   that  of  pity;   no  words   came   from  his 
lips,  except   those  of  prayer   and   intercession   for  his 
infuriated  murderers.     This  may   have  been  the  first 
moment,  when  a  saving  ray  of  heavenly  light  fell  into 
the  heart  of  our  penitent  thief     For  thus  it  happened 
afterwards,  when  Christians  were  suffering  and  dying 
on  the  stake  without  a  murmur  and  without  resentment, 


184  MEDITATIONS.  * 

nay,  with  prayer  for  their  tyrants  and  with  praises  to 
God,  that  the  eyes  of  thoughtless  and  stupid  beholders 
were  opened,  their  minds  enlightened,  their  hearts 
renewed  and  their  souls  saved. 

The  other  thief,  hardened  in  sin  and  given  over,  now 
begins  to  rave.     He   has   inferred    from  the  mockeries 
of  the  Jews,  that  the  man  of  the  middle  cross  must  be 
that  famous  Rabbi,  who  had    done   so  many  great  and 
wonderful  works,  and  whom   many  believed   to  be  the 
Messiah;    and   he  doubtless    expected   that    if  this  was 
the  case,  he  would  forthwith  show  his  power,  descend 
from  his   cross,  deliver  his   fellow   sufferers   also,  and 
make   havoc    of  his    enemies.       But   he  waits  in  vain. 
Christ    makes    no    reply,    no    efibrt    to    descend,    but 
evidently    prepares    for   death.     Disappointment,   con- 
tempt and  anger  now  take  the  place  of  a  carnal  hope, 
and  fill  the  heart  of  the  miserable  man;    and  he  pours 
out  the  whole  torrent   of  his  rage    upon  the    suffering, 
and  praying,  and  dying  Jesus.     Thus  Herod  and  Pilate 
make  friendship,  and  high  priests  and  murderers  join 
harmoniously  as  soon  as  Christ  or  his  peopl^e  are  to  be 
persecuted  and  slain.       He  that  is  not  for  Christ,  is 
against  him,   and  he  who  does  not    gather  with  him, 
scattereth. 

Christ  is  silent  still,  and  hides  not  his  face  from 
reproach  and  cursing.  The  penitent  thief  on  the  other 
side  looks  on,  and  wonders,  and  admires  the  scene. 
The  moment  of  mercy  has  come;  the  blasphemies  of 
his  fellow  criminal  and  of  the  Jews  make  him  shudder; 
God  opens  his  eyes;  he  sees  the  guilt  of  these  meii 
and  his  own  guilt  in  all  its  length  and  breadth.  Our  guilt 
and  our  need  are  one.     He  who  feels  his  guilt,  feels  his 


THE  PENITENT  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS.       185 

need,  and  he  who  feels  his  need  will  naturally  seek 
relief;  and  he  that  seeketh,  says  Christ,  findeth.  The 
heart  of  the  poor  man  breaks;  he  can  bear  the  sight 
no  longer.  He  rebukes  his  companion  in  sin;  and 
before  God  and  all  the  world  he  confesses  his  own 
guilt  and  shame.  "  Doest  thou  not  fear  God,  seeing 
that  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation?  And  we 
indeed  justly;  for  it' e  receive  the  due  reward  of  our 
deeds;   but   this   man   hath   done  nothing  amiss." 

To  justify  God  and  to  condemn  ourselves,  these  are 
inseparable  and  true  characteristics  of  genuine  repen- 
tance. Self-condemnation, — not  the  external,  hypo- 
critical, partial  one  committed  to  memory  like  the  Abe: 
but  heartfelt,  sincere,  sweeping,  carrying  away  from 
us  every  appparance  of  worthiness  and  claim  before 
God, —  is  a  dagger  to  the  heart  of  the  "old  man."  For 
when  our  claims  upon  divine  favor  are  all  clean  gone, 
then  it  is  plain  there  remains  no  other  alternative  to 
us  than  to  lay  down  our  arms  and  to  surrender  uncon- 
ditionally to  the  sovereign  pleasure  of  God.  But  to 
trust  himself  to  his  God  without  reserve,  and  without 
selfish  bargains,  is  not  in  the  heart  of  man.  Hence 
the  awful  shrinking  of  sinners,  when  convinced  of  their 
guilt.  Free  and  sovereign  grace  is  an  element,  in 
which  sinful  nature  and  the  carnal  heart  of  man  must 
expire  without  remedy.  And  therefore  even  thieves 
and  murderers  in  prison  and  on  the  scaffold  will  cleave 
to  the  goodness  of  their  own  characters  with  stubborn 
tenacity,  unaccountable  and  ridiculous  as  the  fact  may 
appear  to  us.  But  what  shall  they  do  ^  Such  uncon- 
ditional surrender  to  God,  —  ah  !  it  is  like  the  giving 
up  of  the  ghost.     To  subscribe  to  the  unqualified  accu- 


186  MEDITATIONS. 

sation  of  unmingled  and  sweeping  guilt,  to  strike  our- 
selves the  death-blowto  our  own  characters  before  God, 
to  knock  away  all  the  rotten  props  around  about  which 
supported  us,  and  relinquishing  the  frail  bottom  of  (  haff 
and  sand  on  which  our  house  stood,  to  leap  out  of  our 
element,  and  to  throw  ourselves  into  the  mysterious 
deeps  of  divine  sovereignty  and  divine  mercy,  with  noth- 
ing in  our  hands,  but  a  poor,  short  word  of  promise, — 
oh !  our  very  soul  shudders  at  the  thought,  and 
"  chooses  strangling  rather  than  life"  on  these  terms, 
and  hell  itself  has  no  more  terrors  to  human  nature  than 
this  tremendous  attempt.  And  from  this  point,  indeed, 
it  is  that  the  greatest  number  of  thoughtful  and  inquir- 
ing men  turn  back  and  perish  forever.  And  yet,  it  is 
and  forever  remains  the  indispensable  condition  of 
pardoned  sin  and  eternal  life. 

III.  His  faith.  —  The  mind  of  this  man  is  no  sooner 
settled  on  the  subje  t  of  "repentance  toward  God," 
than  "  faith  toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  rises 
into  existence.  This  is  the  proper  divine  order,  which 
men  may  not  invert  or  destroy.  "  Repent  and  believe!" 
is  the  message  of  God  to  fallen  man.  Some  mean  to 
believe  without  repentance,  but  they  will  find  them- 
selves mistaken.  Faith  without  previous  repentance' 
is  a  dead  thought,  a  mere  notion,  a  doctrine  admitted 
either  with  or  without  evidence,  a  weak,  second-handed 
conviction.  Reasoning  at  the  best  built  it  up;  reason- 
ing may  pluck  it  down  again.  It  leaves  the  mind 
unenlightened,  the  heart  untouched,  unpurified,  the 
life  unaltered,  the  soul  under  condemnation  of  death. 
Faith  after  true  repentance  is  a  conviction  resting  on 


THE  PENITENT  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS.       187 

experience  and  intuitive  evidence,  a  truth  of  the  first 
order,  it  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for  and  the 
unshaken  evidence  of  things  unseen  by  carnal  eyes.  It 
carries  reason  and  logic  headlong;  it  quickens  and 
renews  the  heart,  enlightens  the  mind,  influences  the 
life,  overcomes  the  world,  and  lays  hold  on  things 
heavenly  and  eternal. 

So  was  the  faith  of  our  penitent  sinner:  "Lord 
remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom." 
Lord?  What  does  he  mean?  The  poor,  condemned, 
executed  Jew,  a  lord?  Certainly,  he  is  none  of  the 
lords  of  this  world,  this  is  plain;  and  he  never  had 
been  one  of  their  number.  He  was  of  humble  origin 
and  from  the  most  despised  city  of  Judea.  "  Lord, 
remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom!'* 
Into  what  kingdom?  Certainly  into  no  kingdom  of 
this  world.  For  if  really  birth  had  given  him  a  claim 
upon  all  the  thrones  on  earth,  the  hope  of  inheriting 
them  and  of  distributing  their  offices  to  his  favorites, 
was  forever  past.  "Lord,  remember  me/"  Whom? 
Him  he  was  to  remember,  who  was  ready  himself  to 
expire,  and  who  could  deserve  no  benefit  from  any 
earthly  protection.  No.  To  our  penitent  malefactor 
the  world  with  its  prospects  was  blasted,  and  its  attrac- 
tions dead  forever.  The  eye  of  his  faith  was  directed 
to  another  world;  his  affections  were  settling  on  things 
above.  He  calls  Christ  "Lord"  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
a  Lord  in  the  world  to  come,  who  had  a  spiritual  and 
everlasting  kingdom  to  expect,  and  to  distribute,  and 
whose  mere  rememberance-  of  him  would  be  sufficient 
to  secure  his  eternal  interests.  But  who  is  Lord  and 
King  in  Heaven  save  the  Lord  of  lords  and  the  King  of 


188  MEDITATIONS. 

kings?  Who  has  power  to  distribute  the  blessings  of 
the  world  to  come  to  whomsoever  he  pleases,  but  he 
"  who  doeth  his  pleasure  in  the  armies  of  Heaven  and 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and  to  whom  no 
man  may  say,  what  doest  thou?"  This  confession, 
therefore,  amounts  to  the  solemn  and  comprehensive 
declaration,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah,  the 
Word,  which  was  in  the  beginning  with  God  and  which 
was  God,  the  maker  and  ruler  of  the  universe,  the 
sovereign  disposer  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in 
light,  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  who  can  and  will  save 
freely  and  to  the  uttermost  all  who  come  unto  him. 

But  how  does  he  come  by  this  faith  in  circumstances 
so   unspeakably  unfavorable,  so  decidedly  opposed  to 
it?     The  condemned,   expiring   man   on   yonder  cross 
the  Lord  of  Heaven?     A  stumbling-block  of  mountain 
size  to  the  Jews,  and  the  very  height  of  foolishness  to 
the  Greeks.     His  was  a  giant  stretch  of  faith,  I  confess. 
In  respect  to  external  support,  it  outstrips  the  faith  of 
all  the  apostles,  the  centurion,  the  distressed  fathers 
and  mothers,  the  blind,  the  deaf,  the  lepers,  the  para- 
lytics;   the   faith    of  all    martyrs   on  the   stake,  in  the 
flames,  in  persecution,  in  caves  and  dens  of  the  earth. 
It  was  pure  faith,  clean  and  free   from  every  support 
from  without,  a  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit   unalloyed  by 
any    earthly    ingredient.      Peter  walked    on  the   sea, 
but  he  saw  Christ  pacing  with  firm  steps  over  the  roll- 
ing wave;   the  apostles  remained  faithful  to  their  con- 
viction, but  they  had  witnessed  ten   thousand   exhibi- 
tions of  Christ's  divine   power,  and  had  seen  him  and 
conversed  with  him  for  three  years.     The  sick  and  the 
distressed  came  to  him  from  far,  but  the  land  was   full 


THE  PENITENT  THIEF  ON  THE  CROSS.      189 

of  his  fame;  the  saints  in  after  times  sacrificed  their 
lives  for  him,  but  they  had  accumulating  proofs  of  his 
all-overruling  sceptre,  daily  adding  strength  (if  this  be 
possible)  to  the  testimony  of  the  sacred  records.  And 
what  is  it  for  us  qiow  to  believe  on  him,  when  the  cloud 
of  witnesses  and  the  mass  of  evidence  in  his  favor  have 
already  become  so  boundless  that  it  requires  almost  a 
life  to  pass  over  and  duly  estimate  the  whole  of  it?  It 
is  all  comparatively  nothing.  Our  faith  is  sight,  and 
wo  unto  that  man  who  can  at  the  present  day  live  and 
die  without  being  a  Christian  from  his  heart!  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  Bethsaida,  Chorazin,  and  Capernaum, 
the  scoffing  Jews,  the  dying  impenitent  rebel  of  our 
text,  will  condemn  him  in  the  Judgment  day. 

But  let  us  look  up  to  Calvary  again.     Here  is  a  faith 
firm  and  clear.     Not  like  the  faith  of  many  a  professor 
of  religion,    an    ignis  faiuus,    sprung   from    mud,  and 
lost    and    straying    until     it   is    quenched    in    endless 
night;   but   bright    and    sure   like   the  polar  star.     Not 
like  the  dim,  unsteady  night-lamps  in  the   dismal  cave 
of  human  speculation,    suspended  on  a   rolling   cord, 
or   a   rusting   wire;   but   like  the  noon-day  sun  in  his 
strength,  supported  by  the  invisible  power  of  Heaven, 
rejoicing  like  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race,  equally  un- 
checked in  his  progress  by  the  small  pebbleon  the  sea- 
shore, and  by    the  heaven-towering  mountains  of  the 
western  world,  triumphing  over  obstacles   from  every 
quarter,  and  cleaving  to  the  divine  Saviour  of  the  world 
when  believers   doubted   and   despaired,    and   apostles 
fled  in  confusion;  when  angels  in  heaven  stopped  their 
harps  in  awful    suspense   as   to  v*hat  was  coming,   and 
the  powers  of  darkness  shouted  victory  and  triumph* 
IT 


100  MEDITATIONS. 

"  Lord,  remember  me!  "  It  was  a  faith  working  an 
enth^e  and  unconditional  surrender  to  Christ.  There  is 
no  choosing,  no  self-will,  no  undue  aspiration,  no  de- 
sire to  obtain  even  a  pledge.  Remember  me;  this  is 
enough.  Do  as  thou  will  with  me,  only  remember  me. 
"Lord,  remember  me,  when  thou  comest  in  thy  king- 
dom." This  is  no  carnal  faith,  no  selfish  prayer.  The 
impenitent  thief  on  the  other  side  wished  to  be  remem- 
bered too;  but  in  this  world,  and  to  be  delivered  from 
the  agonies  of  the  cross.  This  man  is  willing  to  suffer 
here,  if  he  can  live  in  the  remembrance  of  Christ  in 
heaven.  This  is  the  true  distinction  between  the  be- 
liever and  the  unbeliever,  and  their  prayers.  The  one 
wishes  to  be  delivered  from  pain,  the  other  from  sin; 
the  one  seeks  the  world,  the  other  heaven. 

But  you  ask  again,  How  did  he  attain  to  this  precious 
faith?  I  answer,  the  Holy  Spirit  wrought  it  in  him. 
On  natural  principles  it  cannot  be  accounted  for.  But 
you,  who  know  the  Lord,  why  do  you  ask  this  question.^ 
You  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  divine  illumi- 
nation. Do  you  not  remember  the  time,  when  a  light 
seemed  to  be  poured  all  at  once  over  the  word  of  God; 
a  light,  which  seemed  to  quicken  every  letter,  and 
light  up  ten  thousand  stars  on  every  page.''  when 
divine  subjects,  which  used  to  be  dark  and  confounded 
in  your  minds,  appeared  to  you  in  a  harmony  never 
before  seen,  and  with  the  charms  of  divine  symmetry 
chained  your  astonished  and  enchanted  hearts  and 
looks?  when  a  passage  of  the  divine  word,  which 
aforetimes  seemed  hardly  to  furnish  matter  for  five 
minutes'  reflection,  expanded  in  every  direction  like 
the    blue    sky,  till    you   could    pursue    it    no    longer? 


THE    PENITENT    THIEF    ON    THE    CKOSS.  IS^l 

when  a  promise  seemingly  of  little  meaning  and  little 
value,  became  to  you  an  inexhaustible  source  of  con- 
solation, a  sure  support  in  distress,  a  shield  against 
the  fiery  darts  of  the  adversary,  and  a  flaming  sword 
with  which  you  could  chase  a  thousand  evil  spirits 
from  your  heart?     Surely  ye  do  remember  the  time. 

Well,  here  is  the  same  effect  produced  by  the  same 
cause.  Our  dying  penitent  had  heard  of  the  woman's 
seed  who  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head,  yet  so  as 
to  have  his  heel  bruised  first.  Or  he  remembered  the 
"il^d  or  the  69th  Psalm,  or  the  53d  chapter  of  Isaiah, 
or  some  other  similar  portion  of  holy  writ.  It  had 
been  sleeping  in  his  mind,  having  no  sense,  no  interest, 
no  form  nor  comeliness.  But  behold,  his  eyes  are 
now  opened  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Heavenly  light  glows 
and  blazes  behind  the  dark  transparency.  All  is  plain, 
all  beautiful,  interesting,  lovely,  irresistibly  attractive. 
The  godly,  patient  sufferer  on  yonder  accursed  tree, 
is  the  brazen  serpent  raised  by  Moses,  that  all  who 
behold  it  might  be  saved.  The  whole  dark,  unintelli- 
gible dispensation  of  baptisms  and  divers  washings,  of 
sacrifices  and  shedding  of  blood  which  could  not  take 
away  sin,  —  O  !  what  a  striking  symbol  of  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Son  of  God!  Moses'  mediation  and  prophetic 
character,  Melchisedeck's  and  Aaron's  priestly  offices, 
David's  and  Solomon's  reigns  ^ — how  fit  to  shadow 
forth  the  new  dispensation  which  was  just  commenc- 
ing! "Cursed  is  every  one,"  says  the  law,  "that 
continuelh  not  in  all  things  which  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them;"  and  again  it  says, 
*'  cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree."     Jesus 


192  MEDITATIONS. 

of  Nazareth  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  Lamb  slain  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  the  Saviour  of  all  men, 
the  Lord  of  Heaven.  "Lord,  remember  me!'* 
Blessed  consequences  of  early  religious  instruction  ! 
Unhappy  those  who  are  deprived  of  them  by  the 
cunning  craftiness  or  the  infidelity  of  wicked  men; 
thrice  unhappy  those  who  neglect  them  wilfully  and 
thus  shut  themselves  out  from  their  last  ray  of  hope. 

IV".  His  ready  acceptance  of  Christ.  —  The  short 
petition  is  no  sooner  uttered,  when  the  answer  is  ready. 
*'  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shall  thou  be  with  me 
in  paradise  "  Ten  thousand  talents  was  the  sinner  of 
our  text  owing  to  his  Lord,  and  he  forgave  him  freely.. 
He  was  a  murderer,  nay,  his  murderer,  as  indeed  we 
all  are,  but  his  guilt  is  not  so  much  as  noticed  with  a 
word.  He  comes  with  his  mountain-load  of  crimes, 
and  he  is  received,  without  rebuke,  without  a  reprov- 
ing look,  without  a  moment^s  hesitation,  and  he  receives 
his  title  to  heaven  without  money,  and  without  price. 
He  comes  without  long  preparations  of  self-mortifica- 
tion, without  that  self-righteous  routine  invented  by 
men;  he  comes  as  he  is,  poor,  blind,  naked,  in  want  of 
all  things,  and  is  received  with  open  arms;  he  comes 
in  the  last  hour  of  his  life  and  finds  the  heart  of  Christ 
and  the  gates  of  heaven  wide  open.  There  is  one 
condition,  and  but  one,   "  Come  !" 

But  is  not  this  a  dangerous  doctrine?  Will  not 
men  on  that  account  persevere  in  sin?  What  if  they 
did?  I  am  bound  to  preach  the  gospel  as  it  is;  but  I 
am  not  responsible  for  the   abuse  which  wicked  men 


TMfi    PENITENT    THIEF    ON    THE    CROSS.  193 

may  make  of  it.  Yet  if  there  be  here  one  who  means 
to  go  to  Calvary  in  order  to  get  confirmed  in  sin,  be  it 
go  !  Let  him  go  there,  and  mark  well  every  feature 
of  the  affecting  scene  on  that  sacred  spot.  And  if  the 
dying  Saviour  cannot  impress  him  with  the  holiness  of 
God,  the  sacredness  of  his  law,  and  the  exceeding 
sinfulness  of  sin;  if  he  can  trample  upon  dying  love 
with  true  infernal  contempt;  if  the  narrow,  hair- 
breadth escape  of  the  repenting  criminal  cannot  make 
him  shudder,  nor  frighten  him  from  his  evil  way:  then 
let  him  turn  his  eyes  to  the  other  side,  and  on  the  third 
cross  he  will  see  a  man  of  fearful  likeness  to  himself,  as 
standing,  warning  monument  for  impious,  daring  sinners 
like  him;  a  dying  impenitent  monster,  mocking  his 
Saviour,  and  cursing  his  God  and  his  King  with  his 
last  breath.  That  is  the  cross  which  God  caused  to 
be  erected  for  him  who  dares  abuse  the  death  of 
Christ;  on  that  let  him  look,  until  his  flinty  heart  is 
melted  with  godly  fear  and  his  very  soul  filled  with 
awe.  Then  he  will  be  prepared  to  forfeit  by  the 
example  of  penitence  and  faith,  which  we  have  con- 
templated to-day  and  to  follow  it;  to  embrace  the  cross 
of  Christ  with  tears  of  sorrow  and  love,  and  to  exclaim, 
believing,    "Lord,  remember  me  !" 

But  our  time  has  expired.  Our  scene  draws  near 
to  its  close.  Christ's  work  on  earth  is  done,  his  eyes 
are  closed,  his  limbs  cold,  his  soul  has  taken  her  flight. 
The  bones  of  the  two  malefactors  are  broken,  the  one 
is  gone  to  follow  his  Saviour  and  to  proclaim  his  love 
to  the  unnumbered  hosts  of  heaven,  and  the  other  ia 
gone  —  to  his  own  place. 


194  MEDITATIONS^. 

Now  for  a  glance  at  that  precious  scene,  wfiera 
Christ  entered  into  the  gates  of  life  with  the  first  fruit 
of  his  sufferings  and  to  witness  the  welcome  they 
received.  But  this  must  be  reserved  for  another 
world.  If  we  too  repent  and  believe,  we  shall  soon, 
see  this  and  all  the  other  glories  of  heaven,  as  we  are 
seen,  and  know  them  as  we  are  known^ 


]\i  E  D  I  T  A  T  I  O  N  S 


THE  BURIAL  OF  CHRIST. 


MATTHEW  XXVII.  57  — 61. 

^Vfren  the  even  was  como,  there  eame  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea,  iiamcfl  Joseph^, 
■who  also  himaelf  was  Jesus's  disciple:  he  went  to  Pilate,  and  begged  the  body 
of  Jesus.  Then  Pilate  commanded  the  body  to  be  delivered.  And  wiien  Joseph 
had  taken  the  body,  he  wrapped  it  in  a  clean  linen  cloth,  and  laid  it  in  his  own 
new  tomb,  which  he  litid  hewn  out  in  the  rock  ;  and  he  rolled  a  great  stone  to  the 
door  of  the  sepulchre,  and  departed.  And  there  was  Mary  Magdalene,  and  the 
other  Mary,  silting  over  against  the  sepulchre. 

(Compare  Mark  xv.  42  —  475  Luke  xxiii.  50  —  60  ;  John  xix.  38  —  42.) 

I.  "And  it  was  about  the  sixth  hour,  and  there- 
v/as  a  darkness  over  all  the  earth  until  the  ninth  hour. 
And  the  sun  was  darkened  and  the  veil  of  the  temple 
was  rent  in  the  midst.  And  when  Jesus  had  cried  with 
a  loud  voice,  he  said,  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  com- 
mend my  spirit;  and  foaving  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the 
ghost."  (Luke  xxiii,  44  —  46.)  About  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  —  a  significant,  mysterious  hour  —  the 
daily   evening   sacrifice  used  to  he  offered  up  before? 


196  MEDITATIONS. 

the  tabernacle   of  Jehovah  in  the   wilderness;    about 
three  o'clock  the  Paschal  lamb  used  to  be  slain;   about 
three  o'clock  the  great  alarming   sacrifice  for  our  sins 
was  made    by  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ;    and  the  true 
Paschal  lamb  thus    prepared  for  all  who  long  to  leave 
the    Egyptian    darkness     of  human    reason    and     the 
Egyptian  slavery  of  sin  and  of  human  works  for  salva- 
tion, that  they  may  go  out  into  the  light  and  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God.     The  great  work  was  done.     After 
three  o'clock,  the  miraculous  darkness  which  had  com- 
menced  at  noon   passed    away    from   the  face    of  the 
earth.     The  soldiers  hastened  to  return  to  their  abode 
and  the  Jews  to  finish  their  preparntions  for  the  Passover. 
Jesus  was  dead,  the  battle  was  fought,  the  victory  won. 
Their  rage  was  spent,  though  not  their  malice.     They 
left  the  body  of  Christ,  either  to  the   impure  hands   of 
the    soldiery,   intending    that   it    should    rot    unburied 
according  to  the  Roman  usage,  or  what  is  more  likely, 
they    committed   it  to  some    servants  to   throw   it  with 
the   bodies  of  the  other  malefactors  into  a  hole   dug  in 
some  impure  place,  that  the  law  (Deuteronomy  xxi,  23) 
might  not  be  broken.     And  here  a  difficult  passage  in 
Isaiah  liii.   receives    light    and    its  true   constructioUy 
which   our  English  version  does   not  exhibit.     In  the 
9th  verse  of  that  chapter,  it  is  said,    "And  he  made  his 
grave  with  the  wicked  and  with  the  rich  in   his  death; 
because    he  had  done    no  violence,   neither  was  any 
deceit  in  his  mouth."     Here    the  most  common  reader 
is  likely  to  be  struck  with  the  thought,  that  Christ,  the 
eubject  of  the  verse   and  chapter  in  question,  did  not 
make  his  grave  with  the  wicked^  nor  was  he  with  the> 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  197 

rich  in  his  death.  Rather  contrariwise.  He  was  in 
his  death  with  the  wicked,  and  made  his  grave  with 
the  rich,  or  better,  a  rich  one.  But  a  true  and  ac  u- 
rate  translation  of  the  passage,  which  is  supported  by 
the  strongest  arguments,  even  aside  from  the  fulfil- 
ment, would  run  thus:  "They  gave  (appointed  or 
ordered)  his  grave  with  the  wicked  ones  (plur.),  and 
with  a  rich  one  (sing.)  he  was  in  (or  after)  his  death 
(or  deaths)  :  though  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither 
had  been  deceit  in  his  mouth." 

Thus  this  remarkable  prediction  has  found  its  accu- 
rate fulfilment,  and  the  hand  of  Providence  is  clearly 
discernible  in  the  whole  transaction  of  the  burial  of 
Christ.  Though  he  had  done  no  wrong,  and  no  sinful 
word  had  ever  been  uttered  by  him;  his  relentless 
enemies  destroyed  him,  and  intended  to  abuse  even  his 
dead  body  by  giving  it  an  ignominious  burial  among 
out-laws,  and  perhaps  even  among  the  carcases  of 
brutes.  But  when  the  great  object  of  Christ's  death 
was  attained,  and  the  debt  of  the  world  paid,  God 
interposed,  and  his  beloved  and  innocent  Son  was  hon- 
ored with  a  distinguished  burial,  and  a  clean  and  hon- 
orable sepulchre ;  and  a  sepulchre,  too,  which  was  fitted 
to  answer  some  other  purposes  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance, as  the  history  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  shows. 

Thus  does  our  heavenly  Father  know  how  to  pre- 
serve from  undeserved  shame  and  blame  those  that  are 
his.  They  are  the  apple  of  his  eye,  and  their  character 
is  as  dear  and  sacred  to  him,  as  his  character  is  to 
them;  he  will  save  it  at  last,  by  the  right  hand  of  his 
omnipotence  ;  and  those  who  trust  in  him  shall  never 
be  confounded.     It  is   both  the   characteristic  and  the 


198  MEDlTATiaNS. 

privilege  of  the  true  Christian,  to  seek  the  glory  and 
the  interests  of  God  and  of  his  kingdom,  and  to  seek 
nothing  else;  and  to  leave  his  own  character,  and  his 
own  interests,  however  pure  and  sacred  they  may  be, 
with  him  whose  all-seeing  eye  follows  him  at  every  step, 
and  whose  unalterable  character  and  promises  are 
the  unfailing  guarantee  that  truth  and  innocence  will 
conquer  at  last.  O  what  a  mean  pursuit,  what  a 
desperate  undertaking  to  seek  one's  own  honor  and 
advantage  !  To  seek  advantage  and  honor  on  an  area 
where  we  meet  with  competitors  without  number,  with 
a  few  stoics,  it  may  be,  as  supercilious  spectators,  and 
with  every  wild  beast  and  every  subtile  serpent  in 
human  shape,  as  the  arbiters  of  the  contest.  Where 
all  are  contending  for  ail,  each  craving  everything, 
will  you  dream  of  getting  it  .''  It  is  like  seeking  food 
in  the  lion^s  den;  the  moment  you  seize  hold  of  it,  the 
monster  will  tear  you  to  pieces.  And  what  if  you 
should  get  it,  what  will  it  be  ?  The  only  way  to  find 
and  secure  our  interests,  is  to  promote  the  interests  of 
God  and  his  cause;  the  only  path  to  true  honor,  is  to 
seek  the  honor  of  God;  the  only  way  to  preserve  our 
characters  unsoiled,  is  to  do  and  suffer  the  will  of  our 
Father,  and  to  commend  our  cause  to  him. 

I  do  not  intend  to  say  that  we  must  always  keep 
silence  at  the  calumnies  of  the  wicked.  The  good  of 
our  fellow-men,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  cause  of 
Christ  are  often  identified  with  our  characters.  When- 
ever this  is  the  case,  we  are  not  the  only  sufferers,  not 
perhaps  the  chief  sufferers  under  the  attacks  of  the 
enemies  of  truth  and  innocence;  and  in  opposing  truth 
to  falsehood,  and  correcting  meekly  the  wrong  impres" 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  199 

sions  which  the  slanderer  may  have  made  upon  unin- 
formed and  unsuspectinaj  men,  we  do  not  defend  our- 
selves, but  those  who  suffer  with,  or  by  us,  or  for  our 
sakes.  Indeed,  the  true  Christian  suffers  not  at  all 
when  he  is  calumniated,  despised  and  cast  out  as  vile, 
either  by  the  world,  or  by  mistaken  and  prejudiced 
Christians.  He  has  no  character  to  save  before  the 
world;  he  has  no  interests  to  secure  on  earth;  and  his 
character  before  God  and  his  interests  in  Heaven, 
what  man  on  earth,  what  evil  spirit  in  hell,  yea  I  say 
boldly,  what  angel  in  heaven  will  ever  be  able  to 
touch  or  injure  that  ?  Rob  him,  beat  him,  revile  him, 
kill  him,  —  or  if  you  please,  honor  him,  enrich  him, 
praise  him,  worship  him,  — it  is  all  one  thing  to  him. 
You  can  make  him  neither  poor  nor  rich,  neither 
happy  nor  wretched;  and  if  he  has  any  choice^  he  will 
for  his  own  safety  choose  poverty  rather  than  wealth, 
and  neglect  rather  than  honor:  lest  he  should  forget 
his  heavenly  inheritance  and  call,  and  become  unlike 
to  his  Lord.  He  knows  that  his  Redeemer  liveth,  and 
the  triumphant  song,  "  O  death  where  is  thy  sting?  O 
grave  where  is  thy  victory?"  is  his  crown,  his  king- 
dom, his  boast,  his  source  of  ever-flowing  comfort  and 
delight.  Who  will  harm  him?  What  has  he  to  jiain, 
yet,  who  has  gained  heaven?  What  has  he  to  fear 
who  knows  it  is  impossible  he  should  lose  heaven? 
Nothing,  absolutely  nothing!  Ten  thousand  worlds  of 
enraged  devils  will  gnash  their  teeth  at  him  in  vain; 
for  God  is  his  portion  forever.  Only  then,  when  others 
would  suffer  on  his  account  he  will  open  his  mouth 
while  there  is  hope  that  it  may  do  good.  So  did  Christ 
defend  his  own  character   against  the   Jews  time  and 


200  MEDITATIONS. 

again.  So  did  Paul  speak  "  foolishly"  to  the  Corin- 
thians, lest  his  apostolic  character  should  suffer,  and 
millions  in  every  age  should  lose  the  benefit  of  his 
inspired  writings,  and  perish.  So  did  Svvartz  defend 
his  own  innocence,  lest  the  hand  of  Christian  benevo- 
lence should  be  withdrawn  from  perishing  Hindoostan. 
So,  a  few  years  ago,  did  a  good  and  humble  Christian, 
in  a  superstitious  and  despotic  country  on  this  continent, 
3xpose  vile  slanderers  by  telling  his  plain  story,  lest 
many  of  his  innocent  friends  should  be  crushed  under 
he  heel  of  an  unrighteous  and  mighty  inquisition. 
Then,  and  only  then,  the  Christian  will  speak  and  act, 
seemingly  for  himself  and  unwillingly  too,  to  save 
others  from  harm.  But  where  he  stands  alone  with 
his  interests  and  character  as  a  Christian,  he  will  suffer, 
and  his  meekness  will  prove  an  irresistible  weapon  and 
a  wall  not  to  be  scaled;  his  cause  will  triumph,  and 
heaven  shall  know,  and  often  the  world,  too,  that  he  is 
beloved  of  God  and  the  heir  of  unfading  glory.  What 
will  you  do  with  a  man  who,  commending  his  cause  to 
God,  defends  himself  no  more?  Will  you  attack  him? 
So  you  may.  And  so  may  any  wild  beast.  In  so  doing 
you  can  only  disgrace  and  injure  yourself,  and  at  last 
God  will  arise  in  his  behalf,  save  and  honor  him,  and 
cover  you  with  well-deserved  reproach  and  shame. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  here  even  in  the  mere  exter- 
nals of  the  burial  of  Christ,  The  innocent  and  defence- 
less Lamb  of  God,  now  slain  by  wicked  hands,  and 
cold,  was  to  be  buried  with  the  burial  of  a  thief,  or  a 
brute,  and  vile  hirelings  were  already  preparing  to  do 
their  accursed  work  —  when  God  appeared.     For  — 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  201 

II.  "When  the  evening  was  come,  there  came  a 
rich  man  of  Arimathea,  named  Joseph,"  (Matthew.) 
Mark  calls  him  "  an  honorable  councellor,  i.  e.  a 
councellor  of  the  Sanhedrim,  who  also  waited  for  a 
kingdom  of  God;  Matthew,  "a  disciple  of  Jesus;" 
John,  "a  secret  disciple  for  fear  of  the  Jews;" 
and  Luke  calls  him  "  a  good  man  and  a  just,"  who 
had  not  consented  to  the  counsel  and  deed  of  the  Jews 
in  the  murder  of  Christ,  He  went  in  to  Pilate,  and 
did,  —  what  was  indeed  often  done  by  the  relatives  of 
a  criminal,  but  was  highly  unpopular  and  perilous  for 
him  in  this  instance  —  he  begged  for  the  body  of  Jesus. 
"Boldly"  he  went  in,  says  Mark,  not  intending  to 
indicate  thereby  the  manner  in  which  Joseph  petitioned, 
but  the  peril  he  encountered  by  doing  so;  as  if  we 
should  say,  he  ventured  in,  he  dared  to  ask  for  the  body 
of  Jesus,  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  his  relatives 
had  a  natural  right  to  claim  his  dead  body;  John  was  a 
favorite  and  a  relative  to  the  high  priest;  many  wealthy 
and  influential  individuals  of  either  sex,  who  were 
favorable  to  our  Lord,  were  in  Jerusalem  at  this  time; 
the  fact  of  his  having  been  crucified  was  now  known 
throughout  the  whole  city,  and  the  burial  —  they  knew 
what  it  would  be.  But  so  great  was  the  terror  struck 
into  all  the  friends  of  Christ,  such  was  the  danger  of 
the  undertaking  to  rescue  even  his  dead  body,  and  so 
small  the  prospect  of  success,  that  none  of  them  all 
seemed  to  rise  to  the  conception  of  approaching  Pilate 
with  a  request  to  this  effect.  Joseph  ventured  in. 
And  what  pious  heart  that  saw  him  draw  near  to  the 
governor's  palace,  knock  at  the  massy  gate,  and  enter 
in,  would  not  have  wished  him  God  speed,  and  send 
18 


202  MEDITATIONS. 

up  to  Heaven  the  ardent  petition  that  God  might  give 
him  "  mouth  and  utterance"  and  crown  him  with 
success!  And  with  success  he  was  crowned.  "  Pilate 
commanded  the  body  to  be  delivered,"  and  Joseph  pro- 
ceeded with  happy  steps  to  Calvary,  to  attend  to  the 
melancholy  duty  before  the  sun  should  set. 

Joseph  is  an  example  of  piety  at  court,  and  of  friend- 
ship and    faithfulness   in  distress.     A   councellor  of  the 
Sanhedrim  at  Jerusalem,  at   the  time   of    Christ  —  what 
situation  could  there  be  more  unfavorable  to  godliness 
than   his?     His   lot   had   fallen   into   evil  days.      The 
powerful    influence    of   a   corrupt    generation,    and    a 
selfish   and    reprobated  clan   of  priests  was  naturally 
carrying     him    down   to   ruin.       What    dangers    were 
clustering  around  piety  with  him!     He  was  rich.     He 
was  honorable,  or  respected.     He  held  an  office.     He 
had  much  of  this  world's  good  things  to  lose;  and  what 
more  effectual  way  to  injury  and   loss  could   he  pursue 
than   that   of  professing    an   attachment  to   the   hated 
Jesus,  who  now  hung  lifeless  on  the  accursed  tree.'* 
He  take  down  from  the  cross  the  Nazarene  and  bury 
him  in   his   own   grave  —  how  could   he  ever   take  his 
seat   again   in  the   stately  Sanhedrim!     How  lift  up  his 
blushing   countenance    before   the   highpriest   and  his 
father-in-law!     What   could   he   answer  to  the  pointed 
and  malicious  remarks  which  would  meet  him  in  every 
circle  of  the  great    and   the  rich  at  Jerusalem!     How 
must  his  family  have  been    ashamed  of  the  degrading 
act!     The  very  boys  in  the  street  would  hardly  fail  to 
point  at  him  as  he   passed,  and  to  whisper  in  his  hear- 
ing,  Nazarene,   Galileean!      At   the  court   of  Herod, 
too,  his  influence  was  now  gone;  and  what  idea  could 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  203 

the  Roman  governor  henceforth  have  of  a  man,  who, 
with  all  his  advantages  and  opportunities  for  intellec- 
tual improvement,  turned  out  to  be  the  most  devoted  of 
all  the  deluded  simple  devotees  of  the  fanciful  and 
eccentric  young  Rabbi  of  Nazareth,  who  had  just 
been  crucified?  These  and  a  hundred  other  consid- 
erations, however,  did  not  shake  the  mind  of  Joseph. 
He  had  independence  enough  to  be  what  he  was. 
But  he  had  none  of  the  bravery,  which  is  so  high  in 
the  market  among  the  young,  the  bright,  the  rich,  the 
literary  of  our  refined  and  civilized  age  —  the  bravery 
to  oppose  God  and  despise  Christ.  Yet  had  he  a  kind 
of  courage  which  they  in  their  turn  have  not;  that  of 
braving  the  great  world,  of  encountering  the  loss  of 
wealth  and  honor,  and  of  following  conscience  and 
good  sense.  He  may  have  lacked  the  refinement  and 
the  reading  of  many  a  courtier  of  Herod;  but  he  knew 
what  they  knew  not;  he  knew  how  to  think,  reflect, 
feel,  pray,  choose,  act,  and  suffer  if  necessary,  for 
righteousness'  sake.  He  was  no  mathematician,  no 
eclectic  philosopher,  like  Pilate;  but  he  was,  what 
Pilate  was  uot,  the  friend  and  benefactor  of  innocence 
at  the  gallows. 

It  is  a  vain  excuse  of  many  among  the  great,  and 
one  by  which  they  pay  no  compliment  to  their  own 
principles  and  character,  that  their  situation  does  not 
permit  them  to  be  pious.  Indeed!  If  this  be  true, 
then  be  a  man,  and  leave  your  iniquitous  employment 
which  keeps  you  from  serving  God.  Draw  out  the 
serpent  from  your  bosom!  Spit  out  the  poison  from 
your  mouth!  Crush  the  spark  of  perdition  that 
has    settled    in    the    folds    of    your    garment!       Your 


204  MEDITATIONS. 

situation  does  not  permit  you  to  be  pious!  A  fine 
excuse!  It  will  answer  for  every  thief  and  highway 
robber,  for  every  profane  stage  actor,  and  every  harlot 
about  town.  Their  situation,  too,  will  not  permit  them 
to  serve  God.  But  mark  it,  your  excuse  is  a  vain  one. 
You  cannot  serve  God,  because  you  are  rich,  because 
you  have  an  office,  because  you  are  at  court,  because 
you  are  in  the  army.  Moses  was  even  brought  up  at 
the  court  of  Egypt;  Obadiah  was  the  first  man  at 
Ahab's  court;  Daniel  was  a  Babylonian  prince;  David, 
Josiah,  and  others,  were  kings;  the  centurion  in  the 
gospel  and  Cornelius  were  officers  of  a  heathen  army; 
Joseph  of  Arimathea  was  a  rich  man  and  an  honorable 
councellor.  But  they  were  all  pious  men,  and  knew 
how  to  serve  God  in  the  situation  in  which  they  were. 
But  1  cannot  dismiss  this  part  of  our  meditation  with- 
out one  glance  at  least  into  heaven,  to  consider  with 
what  joy  and  humble  gratitude  the  heart  of  Joseph  must 
have  been  filled,  when,  arriving  at  the  court  above, 
he  saw  to  whom  he  had  ministered  at  that  gloomy  and 
distressful  day,  when  both  the  malice  and  the  darkness 
of  the  pit  seemed  to  be  poured  upon  Jerui^alem.  Then 
he  thought  he  served  a  holy,  innocent  man, — after- 
wards faith  taught  him  to  whom  he  had  ministered,  — 
but  now  he  smv,  and  behold  he  was  "  the  Word  made 
flesh."  He  was  burying  a  suffering  brother,  he 
thought;  and  behold,  he  sees  him  now  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  having  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and 
being  surrounded  with  the  worshipping  hosts  of 
heaven!  And  what  a  source  of  rejoicing  must  it  be 
to  him  now!  What  in  a  hundred,  in  a  thousand,  in 
millions  of  years!     What  throughout  eternity!     Well 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST. 


20o 


might  a  holy  envy  kindle  up  in  our  hearts,  that  ice  did 
not  live  then,  to  bury  Christ  or  to  do  some  small  service 
towards  it.  All  these  opportunities  to  serve  Chris 
while  he  was  on  earth  seem  now  to  be  so  Jiiany  blessed 
monopolies,  the  privileges  of  a  few  favored  ones,  and 
we  could  almost  sit  down  and  weep  that  we  live  at  the 
melancholy  distance  of  eighteen  centuries  from  that 
bright  spot  in  the  history  of  our  planet,  when  the  Lord 
of  glory  paid  his  incognito  visit  to  it,  and  received  a  few 
services  ignorantly  done  to  him  by  a  few  good  people. 
But,  my  friends,  weep  not.  Let  not  envy  tempt  you. 
There  is  no  occasion  for.  it.  Do  you  want  to  serve 
Christ  ?  You  can  do  this  now.  Serve  him  in  the  temple 
of  your  mind.  And  if  particular  external  services  may 
yield  you  any  special  comfort,  behold,  here  are  the  mem- 
bers of  his  body,  his  children,  his  beloved  ones:  what 
you  do  to  the  least  of  them,  you  do  to  him,  he  has  said. 
Behold,  here  is  a  world  of  perishing  souls,  purchased 
by  his  blood.  Lead  them  to  him,  and  it  will  be  a 
more  important  and  v/elcome  service  to  him,  than  if 
you  buried  him  in  a  tomb  hewn  in  one  solid  diamond. 

in.  We  now  meet  with  another  good  man:  "and 
there  came  also  Nicodemus,  who  at  the  first  came  to 
Jesus  by  night,  and  brought  a  mixture  of  myrrh  and 
aloes  about  an  hundred  pound  weight."  (John.) 
What  myrrh  is,  we  all  know.  The  aloes  are  not  the 
plant  of  that  name,  from  which  we  obtain  a  bitter  juice, 
but  an  aromatic  tree,  the  wood  of  which  was  used 
(probably  reduced  to  powder)  on  occasions  like 
ours.  An  hundred  pounds  are  none  too  much^ 
as   many    have    thought;   for    such   substances    were 


^06  MEDITATIONS. 

consumed  almost  to  any  extent,  according  to  the 
ability  of  the  family.  At  Herod's  burial,  five  hundred 
servants  bearing  ointments  walked  in  the  train,  as 
Josephus  relates.  Part  of  the  aloe  vi^ood  was  probably 
intended  to  be  burned  in  the  tomb,  to  produce  its 
odor. 

Nicodemus  must  have  been  where  he  observed  the 
whole  train  of  events  on  that  day,  else  he  could  not 
have  been  present  at  the  fleeting,  hurried  moment  when 
Joseph  was  burying  our  Lord.  But  more.  If  he  did 
not  enter  into  a  common  plan  with  Joseph  to  share  in 
that  work  of  love,  he  must  have  watched  him,  as  he 
went  from  Calvary  to  the  governor's  house.  For 
how  could  he  have  had  his  myrrh  and  aloes  ready  other- 
wise ?  Such  things  were  not  kept  in  the  dispensaries 
of  families  in  such  quantities,  but  needed  to  be  pur- 
chased from  the  drujjsist.  At  all  events,  he  must 
have  been  ready,  as  soon  as  Pilate's  permission  to 
bury  Christ  was  obtained,  to  set  out  for  the  purchase; 
and  while  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  John  and  the  three 
women  who  persevered  with  the  Lord,  took  him  down 
from  the  cross,  to  carry  him  to  his  tomb,  Nicodemus 
must  have  made  the  purchase  and  met  them  in  the 
garden  of  Joseph.  They  must  have  knovrn,  too,  that 
he  would  come;  for  they  themselves  procured  nothing 
of  this  kind,  evidently  relying  on  him.  A  lovely  band 
of  pious  souls  of  very  different  callings  and  habits;  but 
united  by  the  bond  of  perfectness  —  that  bond  which 
is  stronojest  in  distress  —  and  engao-ed  with  one  heart 
and  mind  in  the  service  of  their  common  Lord. 

John  iii:  Nicodemus  comes  to  Christ  by  night  from 
fear  of  the  Jews,  and   finds  it  very  hard  to  understand 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  207 

the  great  doctrine  of  regeneration.  Chapter  vii:  he 
is  present  at  a  furious  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrim,  ven- 
tures a  tremhhng  remark  against  their  unlawful  pro- 
ceedings in  reference  to  Christ,  and  is  so  put  down  and 
silenced,  that  we  really  are  led  to  fear  he  will  never 
open  his  mouth  again.  And,  behold,  here  we  meet 
him  all  at  once  among  the  most  faithful,  liberal  and 
persevering  friends  of  Christ. 

There  is  not  a  more  lovely  example  than  this  of  the 
power  of  God  "made  perfect  in  meekness."  Poor 
Nicodemus,  how  full  he  was  by  nature  of  unbelieving 
fears!  All  the  time  of  our -Lord's  ministry  he  durst  not 
come  out  boldly  and  openly.  O  the  high  priest,  and 
his  sacred  office,  and  his  mighty  family!  O  the  for- 
midable army  of  the  Sanhedrim!  O  the  popular 
pharisees  and  scribes!  O  the  synagogue,  the  excom- 
munication! O  the  scoffing  world!  and  perhaps  even, 
my  brothers,  iny  sisters,  yea,  my  wife,  my  children. 
What  black  clouds,  big  with  destruction;  what 
insurmountable  barriers  to  open  piety,  to  that  unpop- 
ular outcast  profession,  which  is  the  only  one  that 
makes  men  miserable  in  this  world!  How  he  would 
have  loved  to  hear  Christ!  But,  to  go  with  those  who 
went  to  mock  and  to  dispute,  his  heart  did  not  permit 
him.  And  to  mingle  with  the  pious,  to  hear  Jesus 
preach  and  teach,  and  to  look  devotional  and  serious 
as  indeed  he  was, — why,  he  would  have  sunk  into 
the  ground,  if  old  Annas  or  Caiaphas  had  overcharged 
him  with  this  high  treason  against  the  synagogue.  One 
dark  night,  late,  he  wraps  his  face  into  his  cloak  to 
visit  that  lovely,  attractive  young  Rabbi,  who  seemed 
to  turn  the  world   upside  down.     Nobody  v/as  to  know 


208  MEDITATIONS. 

it,  and  who   can  tell  what  white  lie  the   poor  man  ma/ 
have  told,  as  he  slipt  down  stairs  or  out  of  his  house, 
when  his  unbelieving  wife  or  children  asked  him  v/here 
he  was  going   so  late   and   in  such  darkness  without  a 
lantern;   for  you   may  depend   upon   it,  he   took  none 
with   him.      In  the   young  Rabbi's   chamber  he  heard 
strange   things   of   a   new    birth,    a   spiritual    birth,    a 
spiritual    kingdom,  and  a  hundred  other  things  equally 
mysterious   and   interesting.     O  how  he  abhorred  now 
the  childish,  crazy  casuistry  of  their  corrupt  traditions. 
Here  is  religion,  here  is  eternal    life,  if  anywhere,  he 
thought.     Here   let   me   build  a  tabernacle.     But  no; 
he  must   go  home.     And  there,  alas!  he  meets  again 
his    scolding    wife,  his    distracted    son,    his    worldly- 
minded   daughter,    his  thoughtless    relatives.     In  the 
morning   he  is   perhaps   called   to  the   high-priest    and 
received  with  great  cordiality  and  paternal   affection; 
he  hears  one  bad  story  after  another  about  Christ;   on 
the  table  lies  written  upon  parchment,  in  broad  charac- 
ters, the  awful  curse  upon  every  one  who  should  profess 
Christ  to  be  the  Messiah.     A  resistless  tide  carries  him 
down   again    into  doubt,  fear,  unbelief  and  weakness. 
Once  more,  when  he  is  an  eye  and   ear  witness  of  the 
iniquitous,  lawless  spirit  of  the  Sanhedrim,  he  rises  and 
speaks  a  word,   but    alas!   a   flood    of  contumelies    and 
menaces   overwhelms    him   and   sweeps   away  all   his 
courage.     But  when  all   his   own   courage   v/as   sv/ept 
away,  then   came   that  courage  which   is  from   above. 
When  his  own  strength  was  all  spent,  then  the    power 
of  God  was  made  perfect  in  him. 

Nor  is  this  strange.     The  work   of  God  in  us  begins 
where   ours   ceases.     "  When  I  am  weak,  then   am  i 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  209 

strong,"  says  Paul,  and  if  there  be  anything  para- 
doxical to  reason,  it  is  this  saying.  But  in  the  spiritual 
life  of  the  Christian,  it  has  its  root  struck  through  and 
through,  and  its  most  profound  and  important  meaning. 
While  we  are  strong  in  ourselves,  there  is  no  hope  for 
us.  But  when  the  lamentation,  "Lord  save  us,  or  we 
perish!"  bursts  out  from  our  distressed  and  melting 
hearts,  then  the  day  begins  to  dawn.  Why,  the  very 
seeds  must  rot  before  they  can  bud;  and  intellectually 
even  a  man  must  absolutely  feel  his  need  of  instruc- 
tion, before  he  can  receive  any  to  purpose.  And  it  is 
a  fact,  God  despises  all  human  strength  and  will  not 
have  it.  Therefore  he  breaks  the  bones  of  the  lien 
and  flings  him  aside  into  the  field  to  rot,  and  then, 
after  a  little  while,  meat  comes  forth  from  the  eater, 
and  sweetness  from  the  strong. 

Rejoice,  therefore,  ye  weak  ones!  You  are  the 
vessels  of  divine  grace,  and  the  instruments  of  God. 
If  any  mountains  are  to  be  removed,  you  vvill  remove 
them;  if  any  Goliah  is  to  be  slain,  he  shall  fall  by  your 
hands.  Yea,  more.  The  hands  of  the  strong  ones 
shall  droop  nerveless,  and  they  themselves  shall  sink 
and  perish;  but  your  weak  hand  shall  renew  their 
strength  and  hold  on  to  the  cross  througli  life  and 
death,  till  you  awake  in  the  bosom  of  your  Saviour. 
O  that  we  had  many  Nicodemuses  about  us,  weak,  poor 
sinners!  But  alas!  they  are  all  strong  like  Annas  and 
Caiaphas,  they  are  all  wise  like  Pilate,  and  great  and 
rich  like  Herod,  and  if  Christ,  the  poor,  pious,  carpen- 
ter's son,  the  blameless  but  hated  sectarian,  was  to  be 
buried  to-day,  this  whole  city  would  probably  furnish 
precious  few  Josephs,  Nicodemuses,  and  Marys.  And 
should  we  be  among  them,  my  friends? 


210  MED1TAT1V..N5.  j 

IV.  Jerusalem  was  surrounded  with  gardens.  One 
of  them,  belonging  to  Joseph,  w^as  situated  near  the 
place  where  Christ  was  executed.  The  whole  district 
of  Jerusalem  is  rocky.  The  lime-stone  of  which  it 
consists  becomes  harder  as  one  descends,  but  is  soft 
when  situated  high.  In  one  of  these  rocks  belonging 
to  Joseph's  garden,  he  had  caused  his  own  intended 
sepulchre  to  be  cut  out  according  to  the  existing 
custom,  and  a  large  stone  slab  was  also  prepared  to 
guard  the  entrance.  No  corpse  had  ever  been  depos- 
ited there.  Here  Christ  was  to  rest.  They  intended 
to  give  him  a  grave  among  the  wicked;  but  with  a  rich 
and  honorable  man  was  he  after  his  death.  Nicodemus 
was  at  hand  with  his  spices.  Joseph  had  bought  some 
fine  linen  to  wrap  up  the  body  with  a  part  of  the  spices 
of  Nicodemus.  Perhaps  the  linen  was  made  into  a 
long  gown,  for  the  word  indicates  both.  Around  his 
head  they  wound  a  napkin.  It  must  now  have  been 
late.  John,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Christ,  are  not 
present.  They  seem  to  have  returned  as  soon  as  they 
knew  where  the  corps  was  to  be  carried.  Poor  Mary! 
she  was  already  advanced  in  years  and  must  have 
suiTered  much  that  day!  As  soon  as  she  knew  the  body 
of  her  beloved  son  was  in  the  hands  of  friends,  w  ho 
were  to  keep  it  till,  after  the  feast,  the  formal  burial 
could  be  attended  to,  she  seems  to  have  been  prevailed 
upon  to  return  home  with  John,  whose  mother  she  had 
become.  We  find,  therefore,  only  Joseph,  Nicodemus, 
Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  Joses  at  the 
sepulchre.  Hastily  they  now  deposited  the  body  of 
Christ  there,  because  of  the  Jevvs'  preparation;  for  the 
sepulchre   was   nigh   at  hand.      And    they  rolled    the 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHRIST.  211 

stone   unto  the   door   of  the   sepulchre,  and  departed. 
Here  finishes  the  history  of  our  Lord's  burial. 

Ideas    can  be  written    down    and     objects   can    be 
painted,  but    emotions   yield   neither  to  the  pen  nor  to 
the   brush.      Every  one  must  experience  for  himself 
what  it  is  to  spend  a  solitary  hour   in  the   solemn    sep- 
ulchre of  Christ.     Gethsemane  and  Calvary  are  awful 
places.     The    one  will   melt   you   down  with   fear   and 
fluctuating   hope,   the    other  with    love    and  gratitude 
and  sorrow.      But  the   scenes   there,  are   almost   too 
tremendous;   the  emotions  which   storm  through  your 
breast  overmatch  you;   deep  calls  upon  deep;   Jehovah 
is  passing  by,  in  storm,  earthquake  and  fire,  and  your 
thoughts    are  swallowed   up   before  they  ripen.      Yet 
these  are  truly  precious  exercises  to  the  dead,  para- 
lysed soul  of  fallen  man,  and  the  very   strokes   of  the 
electricity  of  heaven.     But  when   you  are   awakened, 
terrified,   warned,    quickened,    melted   there,   then,   O 
then   come,  sit  down   in  the    cool,  dusky  sepulchre    of 
Jesus;   shut  out  the  world;   gather  in  every  thought; 
shut  the   door,  and  listen  to  the   still  small   voice   of 
Jehovah.     Here,  between  these  silent  walls,  time  and 
space  will   vanish,  and  you    will   deceive   yourself  no 
more   with   ideas    of  great    and    small,  and   with   fair 
promises    of   futurities  that    never  come;   but  as  the 
starry,  boundless  firmament  falls  whole  into  your  little 
eye  at  even,  so  shall  eternity  fall  into  your  soul.     Here, 
the    storm   of  sins,    passions,   wishes,   duties   and   idle 
sorrows  and  idle  joys  will  cease  to  roar;   a  deep  calm 
will   follow,   and  the    unexplored   ocean  of  your  mind 
will  reflect  the  countenance  of  heaven.       O,   it  is    a 
good,  it  is  an  awful   place!     But  if  the  place  is  on';  fil 


212  MEDITATIONS. 

for  solemn  reflection,  the  scene  is  infinitely  more  so. 
Your  sepulchre  is  not  emptj.  But  one  step  from  you 
there  lies  a  corps,  there  shines  a  pale  and  lifeless  coun- 
tenance that  speaks  worlds.  Who  is  it?  Who?  A 
youth  —  an  innocent,  a  holy  youth!  Ah,  more  than 
that,  more  than  language  can  express.  Why  did  he  die 
so  soon?  How  did  he  die?  For  whom?  Down  with 
your  face  upon  the  cold,  damp  stone,  and  answer, — 
answer!  He  was  martyred  to  death,  his  soul  is  gone, 
and  where?  —  To  heaven,  to  prepare  a  place  for  you. 
For  me?  Yes,  for  you,  sinner,  poor,  perishing  sinner, 
for  you!  O  love  divine!  thou  art  almighty;  thou  hast 
conquered;  I  am  forever  thine!  Amen,  so  he  it! 
Look  into  his  face;  it  is  yet  full  of  love.  The  features 
of  other  dead  men,  though  sinners  and  selfish,  smile, 
as  though  even  their  departing  spirits  wished  to  leave 
the  expression  of  kindness  upon  the  clay  which  they 
inhabited.  Here  is  the  countenance  of  love,  of  divine 
benevolence  itself  Have  you  no  emotion,  no  tear  of 
pious  gratitude  for  him?  Impossible!  Where  is  the 
monster  of  a  son  that  can  stare  insensibly  on  the  pale 
face  of  his  father's  corps?  Where  the  serpent  of  a 
daughter  that  can  turn  away  with  a  dry  eye  from  her 
lifeless  mother's  smile?  Where  is  the  stout-hearted, 
unnatural  parent,  who  can  nail  up  the  coffin  of  his 
offspring  without  a  falling  tear?  Here  is  more  than 
father,  more  than  mother,  son,  or  daughter.  Here  is 
"the  Word"  "made  flesh,"  the  Son  of  God,  the 
Saviour,  the  almighty,  faithful  friend  of  your  perishing 
soul;  here  he  is  murdered  innocently,  that  you,  his 
murderer,  you,  the  murderer  of  your  own  soul  and  of 
the  souls  of  many  others,  might  live. 


THE    BURIAL    OF    CHR  ST.  2l3 

But  I  have  said  it,  emotions  are  not  expressible  by 
words.  The  feelings  which  the  calm  devout  contem- 
plation of  the  "  man  of  sorrows"  kindles  in  the  heart, 
are  sealed  like  the  seven  mysterious  thunders  of  the 
apocalypse;  they  must  be  felt.  It  is  but  folly  to  Herod, 
the  worldling,  if  he  hears  us  talk  of  the  beauties  of 
Jesus's  bleeding  head,  of  that  closed  eye,  those  pale 
lips,  those  cold  cheeks,  the  prints  of  those  nails  and  the 
deep  wound  in  his  side.  It  is  grievous  to  Caiaphas, 
the  self-righteous  casuist  and  moralist,  to  hear  of  the 
dying  love  of  Christ  to  sinners.  The  story  of  the 
gospel  is  nonsense  to  Pilate,  the  wise  man  of  this 
world.  Away  with  them,  and  the  profane  crowd  that 
follows  them  in  every  age  ;  away  with  them  from  the 
sepulchre  of  Christ.  But  let  the  thinking,  reflecting, 
the  poor,  the  humble  come,  and  let  their  meditations 
be  undisturbed.  Heaven's  gate  is  open  while  they 
dwell  in  the  silent  cave.  Jesus  is  there,  and  this  is 
enough. 

But  while  in  this  changing  world,  they  cannot  always 
remain  at  the  delightful  spot  which  we  have  visited  to- 
day. Duty  calls  them  out,  and  they  follow;  but  as 
they  go  out  they  take  Christ  with  them,  and  often, 
while  externally  employed  in  secular  works,  their  heart, 
their  spirit  ever  and  anon  breathes  the  spicy  atmos- 
phere of  the  sacred  tomb.  "  All  the  thoughts  and 
exercises  of  my  mind,"  says  a  certain  devout  man, 
*'  are  employed  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus.  He  is  dead,  I 
die  with  him.  To  please  him,  I  will  mortify  my  sinful 
flesh.  All  my  desires  and  lusts  will  I  take  captive. 
I  will  bury  them  in  his  grave.  Never  shall  they  rule 
again  in  me.  His  death  shall  be  my  life.  l£  I  die 
19 


1214  MEDITATIONS. 

with  him,  I  shall  also  live  with  him.  I  will  wet  his 
grave  with  tears  of  penitence.  My  heart  shall  be  the 
fine  clean  linen  into  which  I  will  wrap  him.  Thus 
will  his  sufferings  bless  my  soul.  I  will  seal  up  his 
remembrance  in  my  heart.  Love  shall  be  the  seal. 
When  I  die,  I  shall  die  in  his  arms.  Delightful  rest 
shall  I  enjoy  there.  His  shroud  shall  be  my  orna- 
ment;  his  coffin  my  grave." 

O  my  friends,  we  must  die  with  Christ,  we  must  be 
buried  with  him,  or  we  shall  never  rise,  never  live, 
never  reign  with  him.  To  die  to  the  world,  to  die  to 
ourselves,  —  O  it  is  a  great  lesson!  But,  if  the  sacred 
word  before  us,  and  if  all  the  laws  of  the  universe  and 
the  deep  and  silent  warnings  and  groanings  of  con- 
science, are  not  so  many  lies,  then  it  is  the  only  way 
yet  open  for  us  to  escape  the  eternal  terrors  of  the 
second  death.  Only  he  who  dies  with  Christ  may  like 
him  boldly  march  up  to  the  king  of  terrors  with  the 
triumphant  song  in  his  mouth,  O  death,  where  is  thy 
sting?     O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


X. 


THE  GREAT  MORNING. 


MATTHEW   XXVIII,  ]— 15. 
MARK    XVI,   1  —  11;   LUKE    XXIV,  1  —  1-2;   JOHN    XX,  1  —  18. 

In  tlie  end  of  the  sabbath,  as  it  began  to  dawn  towards  tho  first  day  of  the 
week,  came  Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other  Mary  to  sec  the  sepulchre.  And  be- 
hold, there  was  a  great  earthquake:  for  the  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from 
heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  back  the  stone  from  the  door,  and  sat  upon  it.  His 
countenance  was  like  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white  as  snow.  And  for  fear  of 
him,  the  keepers  did  shake,,  and  became  as  dead  men.  And  the  angel  answered 
and  said  unto  the  women,  Fear  not  ye  ;  for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus,  which  was 
crucified.  He  is  not  here  ;  for  he  is  risen,  as  he  said.  Come,  see  the  place  where 
the  Lord  lay  ;  and  go  quickly,  and  tell  his  disciples  that  he  is  risen  from  the 
dead  ;  and  behold,  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee  ;  there  shall  ye  see  him  ;  lo,  I 
have  told  you.  And  they  departed  quickly  from  the  sepulchre  with  fear  and  great 
joy,  and  did  run  to  bring  his  disciples  word.  And  as  they  went  to  tell  his  disci- 
ples, behol.l,  Jesus  met  them,  saying,  All  hail.  Ami  they  came  and  held  him  by 
his  feet,  and  worshipped  him.  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them.  Be  not  afraid  :  go  tell 
my  brethren,  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  and  there  shall  they  see  me.  Now  when 
they  were  going,  behold,  some  of  the  watch  came  into  the  city,  and  shewed  unto 
the  chief  priests  all  the  things  tliat  were  done.  And  when  they  were  assem- 
bled with  the  eldorS;  and   had  taken  counsel,  they  gave  large  money  unto  the  sol- 


216  MEDITATIONS. 

diers,  saying,  Saj'  ye;  His  disciples  came  by  night,  and  stole  him  away  while  we 
slept.  And  if  this  come  to  the  governor's  ears,  we  will  persuade  him,  and  secure 
you.  So  they  took  the  money,  and  did  as  they  were  taught  ;  and  this  saying  is 
commonly  reported  among  the  Jews  until  this  day. 

And  when  the  Sabbath  was  past,  Mary  Magdalene,  and  Mary  the  mother  of 
James  and  Salome,  had  bought  sweet  spices,  that  they  might  come  and  anoint 
him.  And  very  early  in  tlie  morning,  tlie  first  day  of  the  week,  they  came  unto 
the  sepulchre  at  the  rising  of  tlte  sun.  And  thr-y  said  among  themselves,  Who 
shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sepulchre  ?  And  when  they 
looked,  they  saw  that  the  stone  was  rolled  away  ;  for  it  was  very  great.  And  en- 
tering into  the  sepulchre,  they  saw  a  young  man  sitting  on  the  right  side,  clothed 
in  a  long  white  garment;  and  they  were  affiighted.  And  he  saith  unto  them,  Be 
not  aifrighted.  Ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  which  was  crucified  :  he  is  risr  n  j  he  is 
not  here  :  behold  the  place  where  they  laid  him.  But  go  your  way,  tell  his  disci- 
ples and  Peter,  that  he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee  ;  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as 
he  said  unto  you.  And  they  went  out  quickly,  and  fled  from  the  sepulchre  ;  for 
they  trembled,  and  were  amazed  ;  neither  said  they  anything  to  any  man  ;  for 
they  were  afraid.  Now  when  Jesus  was*  risen  early,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  he 
appeared  first  to  Mary  Magdalene,  out  of  whom  ho  had  cast  seven  de^-ils.  And 
she  went  and  told  them  that  had  been  with  him,  as  they  mourned  and  wept.  And 
they,  when  they  had  heard  that  he  was  alive,  and  had  been  seen  of  her,  be- 
lieved not. 

Now  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  very  early  in  the  morning,  they  came  unto 
the  sepulchre,  brin£iing  the  spices  which  they  had  prepared,  and  certain  others 
with  them.  And  they  found  the  stone  rolled  away  fiom  the  sepulchre.  And  they 
entered  in,  and  found  not  the  body  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  it  came  to  pass,  aa 
they  were  much  perplexed  thereabout,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  in  shining 
garments:  And  as  they  were  afraid,  and  bowed  down  tiieir  faces  to  the  earth,  they 
said  unto  them,  Why  seek  ye  the  living  among  the  dead  ?  He  is  not  here,  but  is 
risen  ;  remember  how  he  spake  unto  you  when  he  was  yet  in  Galilee,  saying.  The 
Son  of  man  must  be  flelivcred  into  the  hands  oi  sinful  men,  and  be  crucified,  and 
the  third  day  rise  again.  And  they  remembered  his  words,  and  returned  from  the 
sepulchre,  and  told  all  these  things  unto  the  eleven,  and  to  all  the.  rest.  It  was 
Mary  Magdalene,  and  Joanna,  and  Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and  other  women 
that  were  with  them,  which  told  these  things  unto  iheapostles.  And  their  words 
seemed  to  them  as  idle  tales,  and  they  believed  them  not.  Then  arose  Peter,  and 
ran  unto  the  sepulchre;  and  stoo|)ing  down,  he  beheld  the  linen  clothes  laid  by 
themselves,  and  departed,  wondering  in  himself  at  that  which  was  come  to  pass. 

The  first  day  of  the  week  cometh  Mary  Magdalene  early,  when  it  was  yet  dark, 
unto  the  sepulchre,  and  seeth  the  stone  taken  away  from  the  sepulchre.  Then 
she  runneth,  and  cometh  to  Simon  Peter,  and  to  the  other  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,  and  saith  unto  them,  'I'hey  have  taken  away  the  Lord  out  of  the  sepulchre, 
and  we  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him.    Peter  therefore  went  forth,  and  that 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  217 

other  disciple,  and  came  to  the  sepulchre.  So  they  ran  both  together,  and  the 
other  discijile  did  outrun  Peter,  and  came  first  to  the  sepulchre.  And  he,  stoop- 
ing down,  and  looking  in,  saw  the  linen  clothes  lying ;  yet  went  he  not  in.  Then 
Cometh  Simon  Peter  following  liim,  and  went  into  the  sepulchre,  and  seeth  the 
linen  clothes  lie,  and  the  napkin  that  was  about  his  head  not  lying  with  the  linen 
clothes,  but  wrapped  together  in  a  place  by  itsf^lf.  Then  went  in  also  that  other 
disciple,  which  came  first  to  the  sepulchre,  and  he  saw,  and  believed.  For  as  yet 
tiiey  knew  not  the  scripture,  that  he  must  rise  again  from  the  dead.  Then  the 
disciples  w^ent  away  again  unto  their  own  home.  But  Mary  stood  without  at  the 
sepulchre,  weeping:  and,  as  she  wept,  she  stooped  down,  and  looked  into  the  sep 
ulchre,  and  seeth  two  angels  in  white,  sitting,  the  one  at  the  head,  the  other  at 
the  feet,  where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain.  And  they  say  unto  her>  Woman,  why 
weepest  thou  ?  She  saith  unto  them,  Because  they  have  taken  away  my  Lord, 
and  f  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him.  And  when  she  had  thus  said,  she 
turned  herself  back,  and  saw  Jesus  standing,  and  knew  not  that  it  was  Jesus. 
Jesus  sailh  unto  her,  Woman,  wliy  weepest  thou.''  whom  seekrest  thou  ?  She, 
supposing  him  to  be  the  gardener,  saith  unto  him.  Sir,  if  thou  have  borne  him 
hence,  tell  me  where  thou  ha^t  laid  him,  and  I  will  take  him  away.  Jesus  saith 
unto  her,  Mary.  She  turned  herself,  and  saith  unto  him,  Rabboni  ;  which  is  to 
say,  Master.  Jesus  saith  unto  her.  Touch  me  not ;  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to 
my  Father:  but  go  to  my  brethren,  and  say  unto  them,  f  ascend  unto  my  Father, 
and  your  Father ;  and  to  my  God,  and  your  God.  Mary  Magdalene  came  and  told 
the  disciples  that  she  had  seen  the  Lord,  and  that  he  had  spoken  these  things 
unto  her. 


The  history  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  from  the  dead 
forms  the  second  part  of  the  general  subject  upon 
which  our  series  of  discourses  treats.  It  is  also  the 
shorter  part.  For,  although  the  former  occupied  only 
the  space  of  six  days,  while  this  covers  forty  days,  so 
few  of  the  events  of  this  period  are  recorded,  that  it 
seems  hardly  to  compare  with  the  last  week  of  our 
Lord's  mortal  life,  if  you  number  the  scenes  or 
regard  the  particularity  with  which  the  attending  cir- 
cumstances are  stated.  I  call  this  the  second  part, 
because  the  nature  of  our  scene  has  changed,  almost 
throughout,  and  in  many  respects  from  one  pole  to  the 
other.  Thus  far,  the  picture  was  full  of  gloom.  Satan 
went  on  from  victory  to  victory.  Christ  wept  even  at 
19* 


218  MEDITATIONS. 

his  triumphant  entrance  into  the  holy  city;  and  what 
he  endured  at  the  institution  of  the  sacrament  amid  the 
contentions  of  his  disciples  for  preeminence,  and  from 
the  anticipation  of  his  separation  from  them,  and  what 
he  suffered  at  Gethsemane,  before  the  Sanhedrim, 
before  Pilate,  before  Herod  and  his  court,  in  the  judg- 
ment hall,  under  "the  horrible  whip"  of  the  Roman 
soldiers,  before  the  raging  mob,  and  on  Golgotha,  we 
have  seen  successively.  We  have,  I  trust,  mourned 
and  suffered  with  him,  and  that  for  our  good.  As  his 
last  hour  approached,  we  heard  him  praying  in  the 
midst  of  wrongs,  comfort  others,  while  himself  dis- 
tressed, we  saw  him  save  others,  while  he  was  sur- 
sounded  with  death  ;  then,  overwhelmed  with  the 
terrors  of  convulsed  nature  and  still  more  with  the 
sins  of  a  world,  the  penalties  of  a  broken  law,  and  the 
awful  darkness  spread  over  his  Father's  countenance, 
we  saw  him  almost  despair;  we  saw  him  struggle, 
conquer,  pray  again,  and  die  for  us:  and  the  mingled 
and  changing  emotions  of  our  breasts  were  as  when 
the  stormy  wind  rolls  up  clouds  on  the  horizon,  arid 
piles  and  towers  them  up  as  though  an  eternal  and 
heaven-high  wall  was  to  be  fixed,  to  shut  out  light  and 
life  from  us  forever.  Here  and  there  indeed  a  ray 
shot  through,  and  the  storm  defeating  its  own  purpose, 
unveiled  now  and  then  the  pure  sky,  and  by  its  own 
gloom  set  forth  the  loveliness  of  its  color:  yet,  on  the 
whole,  the  element  about  us  was  full  of  frown  and 
thunder  ;  and  had  this  scene  lasted  forever,  existence 
would  have  been  a  burden.  By  and  by,  however,  the 
clouds  passed,  the  storm  ceased  howling,  Jesus  slept 
and  rested  beyond  the  reach  of  the  world  and  of  Satan. 


THE    GREAT    MORNINO.  219 

We  buried  him  among  loving  friends;  we  saw  the  tear 
of  affection  shed  ;  and  the  meditations,  to  which  we 
attended  in  his  solemn  and  silent  grave,  were,  I  trust, 
sweet  and  profitable  to  us.  Now,  the  sun  is  about  to 
rise.  The  cock  has  crowed  time  and  again.  Already 
the  light  glimmers  in  the  east.  Pious  women,  here  and 
there  in  the  slumbering  citj,  prepare  their  spices  and 
ointments  to  visit  the  sacred  grave;  and  we  are  called 
to  accompany  them,  to  share  in  their  work  of  love, 
their  anxieties,  and  their  joys.  What!  angels  in 
heaven  are  preparing  once  more  to  descend,  and  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth  a  supernatural  power  moves 
once  more,  to  strike  its  solid  pillars,  and  to  shake  its 
deep  cast  foundation.  The  poor,  forsaken  sufferer  of 
Gethseraane  and  Golgotha  takes  again  the  life  which 
he  laid  down,  and  all  the  prerogatives  of  absolute 
divinity.  Christ  prepares  to  rise.  Rise,  my  soul, 
with  him,  and  for  one  hour  breathe  the  atmosphere  of 
the  new  creation.  For  thee  he  died,  and,  immortal 
thanks  be  to  him,  fo7'  thee  he  rises  again. 

The  remainder  of  our  task,  my  friends,  is  a  delight- 
ful one.  Yet,  it  is  no  less  difficult,  interesting,  and 
important,  and  I  approach  it  with  trembling  diffidence. 
It  is  dijjictdt,  because  the  accounts  of  evangelists  are 
seemingly  irreconcilable,  and  have  been  pronounced, 
boldly  and  often,  to  be  really  so.  And  we  are  to  re- 
concile them.  It  is  an  interesting  task,  I  say,  because 
the  story  is  an  unique  one.  Christ,  whom  we  have  to 
accompany,  to  see,  to  hear,  to  observe,  lives  and  moves 
no  more  in  a  mortal,  but  in  an  immortal  body,  which, 
not  by  miracle,  but  by  nature,  is  exempt  from  the  laws 
of  matter.     Now  he  is  in  heaven,  now  on  earth;   now 


2*20  MEDITATIONS. 

here,  now  there;  he  needs  no  food,  but  he  can  take  it 
without  prejudice  to  the  spirituality  of  his  frame.  We 
see,  as  it  were,  in  a  glass,  yea,  in  reality  what  we  are  in- 
tended to  become.  He  is  altogether  the  same  as  before 
in  point  of  love  and  kindness,  and  his  plan  and  his  work 
have  not  changed:  but  he  acts  and  speaks  with  abso- 
lute authority:  and  he  returns  at  last  to  his  kingdom 
in  a  divine  triumph,  leaving  behind  him  a  church,  a 
preacher  of  eternal  righteousness  to  every  creature, 
together  with  the  unfailing  promises  of  his  Spirit  and 
of  his  ultimate  coming  to  judge  the  world  in  righteous- 
ness and  to  renovate  heaven  and  earth.  It  is  an  im- 
portant task,  I  say,  because  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
is  the  seal  of  religion,  the  foundation  of  every  Christ- 
ian's hope,  and  the  sure  pledge  of  eternal  ruin  to  every 
despiser  of  his  love.  "The  task  is  great  and  arduous," 
(I  use  the  words  of  Augustin)  "  but  God  is  our  help." 
If  he  will  vouchsafe  to  me  his  assistance,  (and  J  think 
he  has  often  done  so  during  the  course  of  these  med- 
itations) I  still  anticipate  much  of  divine  enjoyment  and 
profit  for  myself  and  those  who  may  hear  me. 

Our  plan  will  be,  or  rather  remain,  simple  through 
the  remainder  of  these  discourses.  We  shall  reconcile 
the  evangelists  in  their  accounts  of  Easter  forenoon, 
where  they  seem  chiefly  to  disagree— and  this  will  be 
our  task  to-day;  afterwards  we  shall  dwell  in  order 
upon  those  few  apparitions  of  our  Lord,  the  particulars 
of  which  we  read  in  the  gospels;  and  finally,  we  shall 
attend  to  the  ascension  of  Christ  and  hear  his  parting 
command  to  us,  and  his  parting  promise.  "  And  this 
we  will  do  if  God  permit  " 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  221 

To  prevent  all  misunderstanding  in  our  meditation 
to-day,  I  must  premise  two  remarks. 

We  shall  in  this  instance  find  time  only  for  the 
exhibition  of  a  connected  and  continuous  account  of 
the  events  of  the  forenoon  after  our  Lord's  resurrection, 
without  being  able  to  show  at  every  step,  how  this 
arrangement  is  the. preferable  one,  ivhy  this  harmony  of 
the  four  evangelists  is  satisfactory.  This  my  hearers 
may  easily  do  themselves,  if  they  will  just  take  the 
trouble  to  read  and  compare  those  short  portions  of 
scripture  which  I  have  taken  for  my  text.  But  to 
succeed  in  their  examination  of  the  consistency  of 
which  I  shall  state,  they  must  keep  in  view,  that  there 
are  various  ways  of  relating  facts,  of  which  the  evan- 
gelists make  use  just  like  other  men, 

I  remark,  therefore,  first,  that  there  are  three  differ- 
ent methods  of  relating; — (a.)  the  proper  chronological 
method,  i.  e.  that  of  relating  the  several  facts  of  the  his- 
tory of  a  nation,  or  a  century,  or  a  man,  more  or  less 
selected  and  abridged,  but  each  in  its  place  and  order 
of  time:  (ft.)  the  particular,  or  disconnecting  method,  if 
you  permit  me  to  call  it  so,  i.  e.  that  which  takes  one  fact 
out  of  a  larger  number,  and  gives  it  in  its  details  with- 
out connecting  it  before  or  after  with  the  adjoining 
events.  All  anecdotes  are  of  this  kind.  Of  such  facts 
John  has  given  us  a  number  in  his  gospel,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  history  of  our  Lord's  resurrection:  (c.)the 
collective  method,  i.  e.  that  which  takes  similar  events 
and  circumstances  together  and  gives  them  to  us  with- 
out any  reference  to  order  or  time,  intending  merely 
to  state  facts.  Thus  the  three  first  evangelists  state 
that  females  went  out   early  to  the   sepulchre,  merely 


222  MEDITATIONS. 

because  it  was  a  fact  that  some  females  did  go  out, 
though  not  at  the  same  hour,  nor  together;  and  they 
state  what  happened  in  and  at  the  sepulchre,  and  on 
the  return  of  the  women,  merely  because  it  did  thus 
happen,  but  wholly  aside  from  the  order  of  time.  So 
you  will  find  sentiments  uttered  by  our  Lord,  and  par- 
ables frequently  arranged  together  upon  this  very  same 
principle,  without  any  reference  to  chronology.  And 
that  this  method  has  been  adopted  by  some  of  the  best 
ancient  writers  is  well  known.  In  harmonizing,  there- 
fore, the  accounts  of  different  writers,  you  must  always 
be  careful  to  inquire  whether  they  do  pursue  the 
same  method,  or  different  ones;  and  if  different  ones, 
then  you  must,  in  point  of  time,  rectify  the  collective 
relation  by  the  chronological  one,  and  complete  and 
arrange  it  in  its  details  by  the  particular  account  at 
your  command.  Otherwise  you  get  yourself  into 
unnecessary  and  endless  trouble.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  I  shall  endeavor  to  harmonize  the  events  of  the 
history  before  us. 

The  second  remark  I  wish  to  make,  is  intended  to 
free  you  at  once  from  unnecessary  anxieties,  as  though 
the  reality  of  Christ's  resurrection  was  now  depend- 
ing upon  my  success,  or  that  of  any  other  man  in  har- 
monizing its  accounts.  I  should  not  tremble  if  it  were, 
bui  you  perhaps  would.  But  this  is  not  the  case. 
There  lies  so  much  of  agreement  and  harmony  on  the 
very  surface  of  the  evangelists,  even  in  the  calumniated 
history  of  the  resurrection,  that  it  would  have  the  verdict 
of  truth  before  any  civil  bar  of  justice.  You  shall 
judge  for  yourselves.  The  great  features  of  it  are 
alike  in  all  the  four  evangelists. 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  -223 

The  points  of  unquestionable  and  unquestioned  agree- 
ment are  as  follows.  1.  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day  after  his  crucifixion.  2.  The  event  was 
first  announced  to  some  female  believers,  and  not  to 
the  eleven  disciples.  3.  The  messengers  were  angels. 
4.  It  was  communicated  to  them  on  an  early  visit  to 
the  sepulchre.  5.  The  disciples  also  saw  Christ,  but 
not  till  afterwards.  6.  They  saw  him  without  any 
apparition  of  angels  or  spirits.  7.  The  females  found 
the  sepulchre  open.  8.  What  the  females  heard  and 
saw,  they  saw  and  heard  it  partly  in  the  sepulchre, 
partly  near  it.  9.  The  disciples  themselves  never  met 
Christ  at  the  sepulchre,  but  in  different  places.  Thus 
far  they  positively  agree.  Other  facts,  stated  perhaps 
by  one  evangelist  and  merely  omitted  by  others,  are  not 
even  seemingly  contradictory  to  the  whole  of  the  event, 
and  those  which  seem  to  oppugn  each  other,  will  find 
their  solution,  I  hope,  in  the  exposition  now  to  be 
given. 

About  the  reality  of  Christ's  death,  there  prevailed 
but  one  profound  conviction  among  friends  and  foes. 
The  soldiers  think  it  quite  unnecessary  to  break  his 
bones;  Pilate  receives  with  confidence  the  official 
report  of  the  centurion,  that  the  Nazarene  was  dead, 
and  immediately  gives  permission  to  bury  him.  The 
Jews  think  it  unworthy  of  their  effort  to  prevent  his 
burial,  and  on  requesting  afterwards  a  guard,  they 
merely  suggest  that  he  might  be  stolen,  but  by  no 
means  that  he  might  revive.  Joseph,  Nicodemus,  and 
the  women  lay  the  corps,  wrapped  into  thin  linen,  into 
a  cold  sepulchre  filled   with  one  hundred    pounds   of 


224  MEDITATIONS. 

spices,  —  all  of  which  was  calculated,  not  to  revive 
the  body  of  a  half  dead  person,  as  some  have  shame- 
lessly asserted,  but  to  destroy  in  a  very  short  time  the 
most  healthy  and  stout  constitution;  etc. 

After  three  o'clock,  they  took  him  from  the  cross, 
and  between  four  and  five  they  must  have  been  through 
the  burial;  and  rolling  the  stone  before  the  sepulchre 
they  went  their  way.  Then  the  great  Sabbath  com- 
menced and  the  high  priest  had  just  time  enough  to 
request  a  Roman  guard  from  the  governor  to  place  it 
before  the  sepulchre  and  to  seal  the  stone  with  his 
seal.  Joseph,  Nicodemus  and  the  females  being 
already  gone  and  remaining  at  home  all  the  Sabbath, 
according  to  law,  did  neither  hear  nor  apprehend  any- 
thing of  this  last  measure  of  the  Jews;  for  Joseph 
lived  not  in  his  garden,  but  in  the  city.  Much  less 
could  the  other  disciples  and  friends  of  Christ  receive 
any  notice  of  it.  They  were  scattered  through  the 
city,  some  perhaps  were  gone  to  Bethany;  the  gardener 
of  Joseph  was  prevented  by  the  Sabbath  from  giving 
them  any  intelligence;  and  in  fact,  the  doleful  story 
was  ended,  their  last  hope  extinguished,  and  the  last 
spark  of  curiosity,  or  inquiry  quenched*. 

The  bodj,  however,  was  not  properly  buried,  hut  only 
deposited.  It  was  yet  to  be  anointed,  placed  in  a  coffin, 
and  put  into  one  of  the  niches  in  Joseph's  sepulchre. 
As  yet  it  lay  upon  a  bier.  The  Sabbath  ended  too 
late  in  the  evening  to  render  it  expedient  for  anybody 
to  visit  the  sepulchre,  and  indeed  it  was  not  till  then, 
that  the  fact  that  christ  had  been  deposited  in  Joseph's 
sepulchre,  became  known  among  his  friends.  But  early 
the   next,  i.  e.  Sunday  morning,  before  daylight,  Mary 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  225 

Magdalene  rises  up.  She  prepares  spices  and  oint- 
ments. According  to  Matthew  and  Mark,  Mary,  the 
mother  of  James  and  Joses,  and  Salome  join  her  in 
this  work  of  love.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  sixteen 
Roman  soldiers  before  the  grave;  for  even  Joseph 
could  not  have  heard  of  it  till  Saturday  evening  after 
the  sun  had  set.  Their  only  anxiety,  therefore,  is,  "who 
shall  roll  us  away  the  stone  from  the  door  of  the  sep- 
ulchre.^" The  keeper  of  the  garden  could  hardly  be 
expected  to  do  it  alone,  and  laborers  were  not  as  yet 
al)out  the  way.  Yet,  their  longing  desire  is  too  great; 
they  proceed  through  the  dusky,  silent  region,  care- 
fully avoiding  the  great  road,  to  do  which  was  easy 
enough,  if  Josephus's  account  (Jewish  war  B.  5,  ch.  2.) 
of  the  gardens  and  vineyards  about  Jerusalem,  is 
correct. 

While  these  pious  females  were  yet  on  their  way, 
when  the  morning  began  to  dawn,  the  great  hour  was 
come.  Four  soldiers  were  watching  before  the  sealed 
stone,  the  others  reclining  to  and  fro,  but  quite  at  hand, 
and  slumbering,  when  a  powerful  shock,  if  not  several, 
waked  them  up.  The  rock  shook,  and  every  object 
about  them  seemed  to  move.  The  first  thought  which 
must  necessarily  have  struck  these  responsible  men, 
was,  is  the  sea]  of  the  sepulchre  destroyed,  or  injured.'' 
Their  eyes  turn,  as  it  were  instinctively,  to  the  stone, 
and  behold,  a  being,  flashing  like  lightning,  stands 
there,  and,  as  with  a  magic  touch,  rolls  away  the 
mighty  rock,  and  sits  down  upon  it,  as  when  a  lion 
coucheth  to  expect  with  royal  ease  and  disdain  the 
vain  assault  of  crawling  insects.  The  moment  after 
the  stone  was  rolled  away,  the  women  appear  at  the 
gate  of  the  garden,  or  farm.  But  either  the  angel  had 
20 


226  MEDITATIONS.  t 

not  yet  taken  his  place  upon  the  grave-stone,  or  what 
is  more  probable,  the  eyes  of  the  women  "were 
holden"  that  they  did  not  notice  him.  Confounded 
and  afraid,  the  soldiers  had  fled  into  some  corner  of  the 
garden,  and  thus  the  prospect  from  the  garden-gate 
was  one  of  solitude  and  breathless  silence,  as  moments 
after  a  shock  of  earthquake  are  apt  to  be.  The  grave 
was  open,  and  the  first  thought  which  struck  Mary 
Magdalene  was,  alas!  they  have  taken  him  hence. 
But  who?  Joseph?  O  no!  why  should  he?  Alas,  it  is 
but  too  probable  that  the  Jews  have  come  to  carry  him 
away,  to  spend  upon  him  the  remainder  of  their  rage. 
At  all  events,  something  melancholy,  it  strikes  her, 
has  happened.  Overflowing  as  her  feelings  ever  were, 
she  cannot  bear  her  apprehension  alone,  and  leaving 
the  two  other  women,  she  hastens  right  back  to  the 
city  to  apprise  Peter  and  John  of  what  she  had  seen, 
and  communicate  to  them  her  fears.  In  the  meantime 
the  other  females  enter,  approach  the  grave,  and  all 
at  once  they  see  the  supernatural  being  sitting  upon 
the  stone.  Fear  takes  hold  of  them,  but  the  angel's 
kind  address  keeps  them  from  sinking;  "  Fear  not  ye: 
for  I  know  that  ye  seek  Jesus;  which  was  crucified. 
He  is  not  here:  for  he  is  risen  as  he  said.  Come,  see 
the  place  where  the  Lord  lay,  and  go  quickly  and  tell 
his  disciples  that  he  is  risen  from  the  dead,  and  behold, 
he  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee,  there  shall  ye  see 
him,  lo,  I  have  told  you."  So  the  angel.  They,  filled 
with  awe  and  joy,  depart  and  run  to  bring  his  disciples 
word.  From  the  angel's  descent  to  this  point,  hardly 
five  minutes  could  have  elapsed.  During  this  time,  the 
soldiers  became  satisfied  that  there  was  a  more  than 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  227 

human  arm  here  displayed,  and  made  their  escape. 
Their  interview  with  the  high-priests  will  receive  a 
word  of  attention  on  some  future  opportunity.  In  the 
meantime,  Mary  the  mother  of  James,  and  Salome,  as 
they  hasten  back  to  the  city,  meet  Jesus  unexpectedly, 
and  probably  not  far  from  the  garden  of  Joseph.  This 
interview  took  place  after  that  which  Christ  had  with 
Mary  Magdalene,  (compare  Mark)  and  to  make  this 
consistent,  you  may  suppose  that  these  two  elderly 
women  stopped  at  the  house  of  some  neighbor  to 
recover  from  their  excitement  of  mind,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  city;  or  they  may  have  run  over  to 
Bethany  to  some  disciples  there,  and  met  Christ  by 
the  way.  As  soon  as  they  see  him,  they  sink  down 
at  his  feet.  But  he  addresses  them:  "Be  not  afraid, 
go  tell  my  brethren  that  they  go  into  Galilee,  and  there 
shall  they  see  me."  Knowing,  probably,  or  at  least 
apprehending  that  Mary  Magdalene  had  gone  to  Peter 
and  John,  and  that  these  two  must  now  needs  be  on 
one  of  the  ways  leading  to  the  sepulchre,  and  not  at 
home,  they  naturally  direct  their  steps  towards  the 
dwellings  of  some  other  disciples,  or  to  Bethany,  as  I 
suggested;  and  this  makes  it  so  much  the  easier  to  see 
why  they  did  not  meet  Peter  and  John.  But  whatso- 
ever roads  they  took,  it  was  a  bypath,  and  to  miss  each 
other  was  very  easy. 

The  three  pious  females,  whom  we  have  now  accom- 
panied, were  not  the  only  ones  v/ho  intended  to  share 
in  the  privilege  of  anointing  the  Lord's  body.  Proba- 
bly soon  after  them  another  company  of  pious  women 
set  out  for  the  same  purpose.  Some  of  them  were  rich. 
Joanna  was   among  them,  the  wife  of  Chuza,  who  was 


228  MEDITATIONS. 

Herod's  steward,  and  probably  Susanna  and  several 
others.  They,  too,  (and  what  was  more  natural  than 
that.^)  had  their  anxieties  by  the  way,  who  should  re- 
move for  them  the  heavy  stone  from  the  mouth  of  the 
sepulchre.  At  the  sepulchre,  they  had  expected  to 
meet  their  three  friends.  But  these  had  already  fled, 
and  so  had  the  soldiers;  and  the  angel  on  the  tomb- 
stone had  disappeared.  The  sepulchre  is  open;  they 
enter  in.  The  darkness  of  the  cave  at  this  early  sea- 
son did  not  permit  them  at  first  to  distinguish  whether 
Christ's  body  was  there,  or  not.  But  soon  they  are 
aware,  to  their  astonishment,  that  the  corpse  is  gone, 
and  they  see  two  angels  sitting,  one  at  the  head  and 
the  other  at  the  feet,  where  Jesus  lay.  Mark  men- 
tions but  one,  because  one  only  spoke.  Luke  says,  in 
a  general  way,  that  they  said  unto  the  women,  etc. 
So  say  Matthew  and  Mark,  generally,  that  the  Uco 
malefactors  reviled  Christ,  while  Luke,  being  particu- 
lar, informs  of  the  repentance  of  one  of  them.  And  so 
do  we  speak  every  day  in  the  language  of  common  in- 
tercourse, and  our  characters,  as  lovers  of  truth  and 
proper  witnesses  at  courts  of  justice,  are  not  invali- 
dated tlrereby.  The  address  and  charge  of  this  angel 
to  these  women  is  naturally  in  substance  the  same  which 
is  given  to  the  others  a  few  minutes  ago,  by  the  angel 
sitting  on  the  rock.  They  flee  as  soon  as  they  can  gather 
strength  enough,  and  some  of  them  say  nothing  to  any- 
body, but  hasten  home;  others  communicate  to  the  dis- 
ciples here  and  there,  as  they  were  able  to  find  them, 
what  they  had  seen  and  heard;  but  they  find  little  or 
no  credence.  And  what  was  more  natural  than  aU 
this.^ 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  229 

The  message  which  the  angel  gave  to  the  women  in 
two  repeated  instances,  seems  at  first  inconsistent 
with  fact.  They  send  word  to  the  disciples,  that  Christ 
would  see  them  in  Galilee,  whither  they  are  ordered 
to  proceed.  But  Christ  appeared  to  the  eleven  and  to 
some  others  sundry  times,  at  Jerusalem,  during  the 
course  of  the  very  week  already  commenced.  Even 
this  very  day  he  appeared  to  Peter  and  to  the  two  dis- 
ciples that  went  to  Emmaus.  A  great  handle  has  been 
made  of  this  circumstance;  but  the  solution  is  equally 
easy  and  satisfactory.  Matt,  xxvi.  32,  and  Mark,  xvi. 
7,  Christ  predicts  his  own  death  and  resurrection,  and 
adds  that,  after  his  resurrection,  he  will  appear  to  his 
disciples  in  Galilee.  This  was  a  general  hint  to  the 
disciples,  and  all  his  followers  and  brethren,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Galilee  after  his  death;  and  certainly  Galilee 
was  a  more  safe  and  convenient  place  than  Jerusalem 
for  religious  interviews,  or  meetings,  where  so  many 
were  to  be  present.  Of  this  hint,  they  as  a  body  are 
now  reminded.  Why  they  did  not  all  at  once  remove 
to  Galilee,  may  have  been  owing  to  some  private  spe- 
cification of  time,  given  by  Christ  previously,  but  not 
recorded;  or  more  probably  to  the  fact  that  Christ  ap- 
peared unto  them  at  Jerusalem  the  very  evening  after 
his,  resurrection,  and  afterwards  again;  on  which  ac- 
count they  waited  until  he  should  give  them  to  know 
that  it  was  now  time  to  proceed  to  Galilee  to  the  more 
general  and  long  promised  meeting,  where  probably 
the  five  hundred  brethren,  of  whom  Paul  speaks,  were 
present.  And  it  is  easy  to  see  the  propriety  of  their 
conduct  in  this  respect.  The  appearance  of  Christ  at 
Jerusalem,  and  to  the  two  disciples  on  their  way  to 
,       20* 


230 


MEDITATIONS. 


£ttimaus,  was  merely  intended  to  settle  them  in  the 
Conviction  that  he  was  alive  again;  and  what  was  more 
liecessafy  than  this,  if  they  were  really  to  travel  to 
Galilee  to  the  mountain  specified,  to  meet  Christ 
there?  This  appearance  was  never  intended,  there- 
fore, to  be  announced  to  the  disciples  previously.  The 
angels  have  no  charge  to  speak  of  these  sudden  inter- 
views, and  Christ,  as  we  shall  see  from  his  words  to 
Mary  Magdalene,  is  purposely  silent  on  this  subject; 
purposely,  I  say,  because  he  must  have  known,  surely, 
what  he  was  going  to  do;  and  yet  he  says  not  a  word 
about  it.     Thus  these  fabricated   difficulties  all  vanish. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  this  latter  company  of  fe- 
males had  no  interview  with  Christ  himself,  and  it  is  to 
these  that  the  two  disciples  walking  to  Emmaus,  had 
referred  in  Luke,  xxiv.  22,  23. 

Now,  Peter,  John,  and  Mary  Magdalene  return.  It 
is  now  fairly  day,  and  the  sun  about  to  rise.  They 
come  somewhat  late,  probably  because  Peter  and  John 
lived  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  then  they  needed 
to  get  up,  and  dress,  it  being  early  yet;  and  it  was  al- 
most unavoidable  that  they  should  propose  many  ques- 
tions to  the  affrighted  sister,  and  wish  to  hear  her  ac- 
counts fully,  before  they  could  resolve  upon  a  visit  to 
the  grave  at  this  season.  At  last,  they  set  out,  and 
that  they  continued  asking  many  an  anxious  and  unbe- 
lieving question  more,  as  they  passed  along,  you  may 
easily  imagine.  They  feel,  however,  more  and  more 
interested;  and  as  they  approach  the  garden,  the 
younger  disciple,  i.  e.  John,  runs  ahead.  He  stoops 
down  and  looks  into  the  sepulchre;  there  are  the  linen 
clothes,  but  tl\e  body  of  Christ  is  really  gone.      Thus, 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  231 

much  is  however  clear  now,  the  body  is  not  stolen;  for 
had  it  been  stolen,  the  costly  linen  would  not  have  been 
carefully  taken  off  the  body  and  left  behind  in  the 
grave.  Peter  and  Mary  soon  follow  John.  Now,  they 
all  enter.  There  are. the  linen  clothes,  and  the  napkin, 
wrapt  up,  lies  separately.  All  indicates  care  and  order, 
and  the  heart  of  Mary  is  at  least  so  far  consoled,  that 
it  is  now  probable  the  body  of  the  beloved  Master  is 
still  in  the  hands  of  friends.  John  marks  all  the  par- 
ticulars well,  and  believes,  (John,  xx.  8)  i.  e.  gathers 
for  himself  the  conviction  that  Jesus  is  taken  away. 
"  For  as'yet,"  he  says  himself,  "  they  knew  not  the 
Scripture  that  he  must  rise  again  from  the  dead."  Sat- 
isfied, as  they  think,  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be 
done  here,  the  two  disciples  return  to  the  city,  plan- 
ning, perhaps,  among  themselves  to  go  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible to  Joseph,  and  to  ask  him  what  had  become  of  the 
body,  etc. 

Poor  human  speculation  is  a  miserable  guide  to  piety 
and  in  piety.  Here  let  the  heart  speak!  There  listen 
and  follow,  and  do  not  grieve  it  to  silence  with  cold 
reasoning.  Poor  Peter  and  poor  John!  back  they 
went,  and  many  a  wise  remark  may  have  been  made 
by  them,  as  they  walked,  to  explain  to  each  other  the 
probable  singular  occurrence  of  this  morning.  Mary's 
burning  love  to  Christ  will  not  let  her  depart.  Here 
they  deposited  him,  and  here  she  saw  him  on  that  mel- 
ancholy evening,  and  here  she  seeks  him,  and  cannot 
get  away.  To  go  back!  why,  a  king's  palace  would 
have  been  a  wilderness  to  her.  Oh!  the  grave  was 
empty,  and  the  world  was  empty.  Whom  had  she  in 
heaven  but  him,  and  there  was  none  upon  earth  whom 


232  MEDITATIONS.  '^ 

she  desired  besides  him.     There  she  stands,  the  lovely 
sister,  at  the  entrance  of  the  empty  cave.     Seven  de- 
mons  had  possessed  her  not  long  since,   and  Jesus's 
powerful   hand  had  freed  her,  poor  sinner;   and  ever 
since,  she  had  enjoyed  the  foretaste  of  heaven  in  com- 
munion with  him,  and  he  had  poured  a  thousand  bles- 
sings on  her  soul.     And  now  his  enemies  have   mur- 
dered    him,    and     even    his    friends    carry    his     body 
about,  and    she    knows    not  where    he    is,  and    is   not 
permitted  to  do  him  the  last  melancholy  service  of  love. 
It  is  too  hard,  it  is  too  hard  to  bear;   it  seems  to  rend 
her  soul  from  her.      She  stands,  and  thinks  and  knows 
not  where  to  go  nor  what  to  do,  and  the   two  disciples 
are  hardly  through  the  gate,  when  she  wraps  her  face 
in  her  garment,  and  a  stream  of  tears  rolls  freely  down 
her  cheeks.     Weep,  dear  child  of  God!     To  weep  for 
Christ   is  sweet.     Blessed    are  they  that  weep   thus: 
they  shall  be  comforted.     Yea,  they  are   already  com- 
forted;  for  one  tear  wept  for  him  is  worth  a  thousand 
worlds.      "  O,  that   my   head  were    waters,    and   mine 
eyes   fountains   of  tears,   that   I   might   weep  day  and 
night  "  for  him  who  is  "  the  chief  among  ten  thousands 
and  the  one    altogether   lovely."     There    is   none  like 
unto  him.     Take  him  away,  and  I  must  curse  my  exist- 
ence.    If  he  is  a  phantom;   ii'  lie  is  not:   then    "let  the 
day.  perish  wherein  I  was  born." 

How  long  she  wept,  who  can  tell?  She  stoops  down 
and  looks  into  the  empty  grave,  —  most  unjustifiable  be- 
fore the  bar  of  reason,  certainly;  but  most  consonant 
to  her  feelings:  to  seek  where  there  was  nothing,  ap- 
parently, to  seek,  and  to  hope  against  hope.  And,  lo! 
there  are  two  men    sitting  in    the    grave.     Her  eyes, 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  233 

dim  with  weeping,  did  not  permit  her  to  distinguish,  nor 
her  state  of  mind  to  rejlect,  and  she  takes  them  for  at- 
tendants of  Joseph,  who  may  have  entered,  she  thinks, 
while  she  was  weeping.  "  Woman,  why  weepest 
thou?"  says  one.  "Because  they  have  taken  away 
my  Lord,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him," 
So  she.  But  hark!  something,  some  steps  per- 
haps, sound  behind  her,  and  she  turns  back  to  see  who 
comes.  It  is  a  man.  She  knows  him  not.  But  who 
should  come  here  so  early,  she  thinks  again;  he  must 
be  the  gardener  of  Joseph,  whose  attendants  she  had 
just  noticed  in  the  grave.  "  Woman,  why  weepest 
thou.''  whom  seekest  thou.'*  "  he  asks  sweetly  and  full  of 
sympathy.  "  Sir,"  she  replies,  encouraged,  "  if  thou  hast 
bornie  him  hence,  tell  me  where  thou  hast  laid  him,  and  I 
will  take  him  away."  The  pure  language  of  affection, 
—  affection  so  strong  as  to  exclude  for  the  moment 
every  maturer  thought  and  reflection.  Why,  Mary, 
he  might  have  said,  what  dost  thou  want  to  do  with  the 
dead  body  of  thy  deceased  friend  ?  His  soul  has  fled, 
his  mortal  eyes,  and  his  sweet  voice  speak  no  more 
comfort  to  poor  distressed  souls.  T  ill  thou  arrive  in 
heaven,  thou  canst  enjoy  his  society  no  more.  His 
body  of  clay  must  moulder  away.  And  why  wilt  thou 
not  leave  him  '*  earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to 
dust.'*"  And  what  could  she  have  replied?  Nothing. 
But  our  Lord  understands  and  appreciates  well  the 
language  of  the  heart.  The  moment  was  come. 
"Mary  !  "  he  says,  and  the  harmony  of  heaven  thrills 
in  his  voice.  Mary!  Amazed,  she  looks  at  him.  Is  it 
he?  It  is  he!  and  alive!  The  transition  is  too  rapid; 
the  joy  too  great;   ^'  Rabboni!  Master!  "    and  she  lies 


234  MEDITATIONS. 

at  his  feet.  O,  heaven  on  earth!  what  is  like  unto  that 
moment,  when  the  first  "  Rabboni  "  bursts  from  our 
hearts  and  lips!  Now,  oh  now,  it  is  worth  while  to 
live.  Now  let  me  live  forever!  for  Jesus  lives,  and  is 
my  friend.     And 

"  When  he  is  mine,  and  I  am  his, 
What  can  I  want  beside  ?  " 

Now,  "  truly  the  light  is  sweet,  and  it  is  a  pleasant 
thing  for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  sun."  Now,  there  is 
meaning  in  my  existence.  I  am  a  man,  I  am  a  man 
now,  while  before  I  was  a  poor  brute,  a  silly,  wander- 
ing sheep.  It  is  done;  the  great  problem  of  my  exis- 
tence is  solved;  the  poor  heart  is  satisfied  at  last,  and 
eternity  shines, brighter  than  the  firmament  of  heaven. 

Jesus,  ever  the  same,  ever  divine,  replies  with  heav- 
enly calmness:  "  Touch  me  not,"  Mary.  This  is  no 
time  for  embracing  my  knees,  for  kissing  my  hands, 
for  watering  my  feet  with  thy  tears.  We  shall  meet 
again.  "  For  I  am  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father. 
But  go  to  my  brethren  and  say  unto  them,  I  ascend 
unto  my  Father  and  to  your  Father,  and  to  my  God 
and  to  your  God." 

Here  closes  the  history  of  this  morning,  a  morning 
of  unutterable  interest  to  our  world,  and  to  our  souls, 
and  one  never  to  be  repeated.  Yet,  while  all  these 
events  transpire,  an  iron  slumber  rests  upon  yonder 
Jerusalem.  There  the  priests  and  Levites,  lifeless 
hirelings,  sleep,  jaded  with  the  tiresome  exercises  of 
the  sanctuary,  with  which  they  would  gladly  have  dis- 
pensed,   had   they  known   how  to   get    money  without 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  235 

them.  There  is  slumbering  the  thoughtless  multitude, 
well  satisfied  with  the  round  of  external  performances, 
and  the  sacrifices  of  bulls  and  goats.  There  you  find 
Pilate,  and  Herod,  and  many  a  Dives  rolling,  half- 
sleeping,  half  awake  upon  his  uneasy  couch,  writhing 
under  the  consequences  of  a  wild  nightly  banquet. 
And  if  any  one  is  fairly  awake,  it  is  the  miser  worship- 
ping upon  the  knees  of  his  heart  his  accursed  mam- 
mon. A  picture  of  the  world  drawn  to  the  very  life. 
While  Christ  rises  as  the  almighty  friend  and  Saviour 
of  sinners,  before  those  "who  seek  him  early,"  the 
world  give  themselves  no  concern.  "Yet  a  little 
sleep,  a  little  slumber,  a  little  folding  of  hands.  So 
shall  thy  poverty  come  as  one  that  travelleth,  and  thy 
want  as  an  armed  man."  Pro  v.  vi.  10.  "  Sleep  on 
now,  thoughtless,  careless  souls,  and  take  your  rest," 
but  know  that  the  sword  of  divine-  justice  hangs  men- 
acing over  your  defenceless  heads.  There  is  one 
among  the  nights  to  come,  and  you  know  it  not, 
when  in  the  solitary  midnight  hour  the  knell  of  your 
dying  bell  shall  wake  you  up  from  the  slumber  of  sin. 
Affrighted,  you  will  look  about,  and  behold!  your 
sands  are  run  out,  and  the  icy,  merciless  hand  of  death 
has  hold  upon  your  heart-string,  to  tear  it  asunder 
as  a  spider's  thread,  and  to  cast  your  unprepared  dis- 
tracted soul  into  the  unexplored  abyss  of  eternity.  O 
what  a  moment  that  will  be!  Forever  gone  by  is  now 
the  slighted  day  of  mercy,  the  time  of  repentance  and 
faith,  whose  merciful  and  glorious  purpose,  whose 
all-absorbing  importance  you  will  then  perceive  with 
horror  and  with  the  outbursting  lamentation:    "Wo  is 


236  MEDITATIONS. 

unto  me;   for  the   harvest   is  past,  the  summer  ended, 
and  I  am  not  saved." 

But  let  us  close  with  the  lovely  part  of  our  picture. 
There  are  many  mourning  souls  and  weeping  Marys 
in  Zion,  and  unto  them  I  could  wish  to  open  the  whole 
treasury  of  heavenly  consolation  if  1  was  able.  But 
if  I  am  not  able  to  do  it,  the  solemn  history  of  this 
morning  shows  them  who  is  able,  and  how  to  get  ac- 
cess to  him. 

Nothing  is  so  wonderful  as  the  first  waking  up  to  a 
spiritual  life;  nothing  so  delightful  as  the  first  love, 
the  first  grateful  emotion  of  the  sinner  who  has  "  ob- 
tained mercy"  and  pardon.  There  the  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  man,  and  heaven  is  begun  on  earth.  The 
fountain  of  life  is  open,  and  springs  high  before  the 
withering,  languishing  soul;  and  she  drinks  in  energy 
and  life  and  joy  divine;  her  "peace"  is  "like  a 
river,"  and  her  "  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the 
sea."  The  dew  of  heaven  descends  gently  and  re- 
freshing, and  the  early  rain  and  the  latter  rain  fail  not; 
eternal  comfort  and  prosperity  have  commenced.  To 
sit  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  to  live  under  the  smiles  of  his 
countenance,  and  to  breathe  the  atmosphere  of  heaven, 
what  more  can  be  wanting  to  perfect  earthly  bliss. 
We,  then,  wish  and  pray  that  this  happy  state  may  last 
forever;  we  fondly  hope  it  will;  and  if  we  were  faithful 
and  kept  humble,  it  would.  But  the  heart  of  man  is 
deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked, 
and  its  thorough  cure  is  not  the  work  of  a  day.  Un- 
faithfulness, a  false  trust  in  means,  self-complacency, 
and  many  other  secret  besetting  sins,  must  be  purged 
away  by  darkness  and   distress  of  mind,   and  many  a 


THE    GREAT    MORNING.  ^3t 

trial.     And,  oh!  this  is  a  bitter  lesson  to  him  who  has 
tasted  how  good  and  how  precious  the   Lord  is.     Now 
he    is   ready    to    endure   anything,    if   Christ    will  not 
withdraw  from  him  his  love  and  the  hope   of  salvation. 
No  more  to  be  permitted  to  say,  '^My  beloved  is  mine 
and   1   am   his,"  —  is   harder   to  bear   than  the   curse 
and  contempt  of  all  this  world.      "  O,  that   I   were   as 
in   months   past,  as   in   the    days  when   God  preserved 
me;   when  hfs  candle  shined  upon  my  head  and  when 
by  his  light  I  walked   through   darkness;    as   I    was  in 
the   days   of  my   youth,  when   the  secret   of  God  was 
upon   my  tabernacle;   when    I    washed   my   steps  with 
butter,  and  the  rock   poured    me   out  rivers   of  oil!  " 
These  are  days  of  weeping  and  lamentation,  and  nights 
of  wakefulness  and  distress;    and  no  man  can  help  us, 
and   our  desolate    heart  seems   to  be  armed  with  steel 
and  adamant  against  every  drop  of  comfort.      Is  there 
no  balm  in  Gilead  ?   is  there  no  physician  there!     Then 
Christ   is   dead   and   buried   to   us,    and  we   know  not 
where  they  have  laid  him,  and  we  seek  him  whom  our 
soul  loveth,  but  we  find  him  not.     Well,  my  suffering 
brother    or   sister,    mourn   and   weep;   it   will    do  you 
good.     To  weep  for  Christ  is  sweet.     But   I    beseech 
you,  do  not  despair.     Your   Saviour   is   not   dead,  but 
liveth;   go   and    seek  him!     If  the    bustle  of  the  busy 
world,  and  the  multitude  of  duties  will  not  permit  you 
to  seek  him  by  day  or  in  the  evening,   then   seek  him 
in   the  night   season,    like   the    Shulamite,  or   rise    up 
early   in  the   morning   like    Mary,   when   it   begins   to 
dawn,   when   all  is   stillness  about  you.     Prepare  the 
ointment  of  a  grateful  remembrance  of  his  dying  love 
to  you;   seek   his   silent    grave.     There  weep;    it  is  a 
21 


238  MEDITATIONS. 

good  place;  there  pour  out  your  soul.  He  will  hear 
every  sob  of  your  bosom,  and  notice  every  solitary, 
unheeded  tear  of  distress.  Soon  the  dear  Rabboni 
will  whisper  behind  you,  with  the  voice  of  unutterable 
love,  "Mary;"  here  I  am,  my  sister,  my  love,  my 
dove,  my  undefiled,  thou  art  mine,  and  none  shall 
pluck  thee  out  of  my  hand.  And  you,  leaning  again 
upon  your  beloved  as  in  days  past,  will  exclaim  as  you 
did  then.  Lord,  it  is  enough,  for  thou  art  mine!  Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


xi. 


THE  WALK  TO  EMMAUS. 


LUKE    XXIV,    13—35. 

And  b  hold,  two  of  tliem  wont  that  sauiH  day  to  a  village  called  Emmaus,  which 
was  from  Jerusalem  about  threescore  fui  longs.  And  they  talked  together  of  all 
these  things  which  had  ha()pt!ned.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  wliile  thoy  com- 
muned together,  and  reasoned,  Jesus  himscil  drew  near,  and  went  with  them.  But 
their  eyes  were  holden,  that  they  slioald  not  know  him.  Ard  he  said  unto  them, 
What  ni;inner  of  communications  are  these  that  ye  have  one  to  another,  as  ye 
■walk,  and  are  sad?  And  the  one  one  of  them,  wiiose  name  was  CJeophas,  answer- 
ing, said  unto  him,  An  t!iou  only  a  str mger  in  Jerusalem,  and  hast  not  known 
the  things  which  are  to  come  to  pass  there  in  these  days.?  And  he  said  unto  them 
what  things  ?  An  I  they  said  unto  him,  Concerning  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  which  was 
a  prophet  mighty  in  deed  and  word  biifore  God  and  all  the  people:  and  how  the 
chief  priests  a  id  our  rulers  delivered  him  to  be  condemned  to  death,  and  have  cru- 
cified him.  But  we  trusted  tliat  it  had  been  he  which  should  have  redeemed 
Israel :  and  besides  all  this,  to-day  is  the  third  day  since  these  tilings  were  done. 
Yea,  and  certain  women  also  of  our  company  made  us  astonished,  wliich  were 
early  at  the  sepulchre  :  and  when  they  found  not  his  bo  ly,  they  came,  saying, 
That  they  had  also  seen  a  vision  of  angels,  which  said  that  he  was  alive.  And 
certain  of  them  which  were  with  us  wont  to  the  sepulchre,  and  found  it  even  so 
as  the  women  had  said  ;  but  him  they  saw  not.  Then  he  said  unto  them,  O  fools, 
and   slow  of    heart    to   believe   all  that  the  projihets  have  ejiokeu  !     Ought  not 


240  MEDITATIONS,  * 

Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?  And  begin'.ifn;^ 
at  Moses,  ami  all  tlio  prophets,  he  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  sciiptures  the 
tilings  concerning  himself.  And  they  drew  ni  h  unto  the  village  whilher  thoy 
went:  und  he  made  as  though  he  would  have  gone  further.  But  they  constrained 
him,  saying,  Abide  with  us;  for  it  is  towards  evening,  and  the  diiy  is  far  spent. 
And  he  went  in  to  tarry  with  them.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  witb 
them,  he  took  hrefid,  and  hfessed  it^  and  break,  and  gave  to  them.  And 
tliijir  eyes  were  opened,  and  they  knew  liim  ;  and  he  vanished  out  of  their  sight. 
And  they  said  one  to  another,  Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked 
with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  he  opemd  lo  us  tlie  scriptures !  Arvl  they  rose  up- 
the  same  hour,  and  returned  to  Jerusahnr),  and  fotind  the  eleven  gathered  together, 
and  them  that  were  with  thorn,  saying,  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed,  and  hath  a\t- 
ptared  unto  Simon.  And  they  told  whiit  things  were  done  i.i  the  way,  and  hovir 
he  was  known  of  them  in  breaking  of  bread. 


Jerusalem  was  yet  buried  in  deep  sleep,  and  its  dwel- 
lings, streets  and  markets  were  silent  as  the  grave. 
Caiaphas  indulging  his  morning  slumbers  beneath  the 
silk  curtains  of  his  damask  couch.  The  Nazarine  is 
buried  in  the  cold  tomb,  and  the  soldiers  of  Pilate  and  the 
broad  seal  of  his  Holiness  guard  the  sepulchre.  Sweet 
dreams  of  the  future  prosperity  of  that  lucrative  hie- 
rarchy whose  head  he  is,  a  hierarchy  growing  and  ex- 
panding in  his  imagination,  until  the  arrival  of  that 
warlike  Messiah,  who  is  to  raise  for  every  circumcised 
rebel  and  wretch  a  golden  throne  of  infernal  selfishness 
upon  the  blood  and  the  ruins  of  a  poor,  perishing 
world  ;  —  sweet  dreams  —  in  point  of  moral  character, 
not  a  whit  above  the  feigned  imaginations  of  Satan  in 
Milton's  'Paradise  Lost*  —  occupy  and  refresh  the 
mind  and  heart  of  Caiaphas,  when  the  heavy  knocker 
of  his  palace  gate  is  touched  with  a  hasty  and  power- 
ful hand.  He  starts  up.  What  is  the  matter  }  Per- 
haps one  of  the  failings  of  my  flock  is  near  death,  and 
wants  to  purchase,  for  his  last  hour,  the  precious  con- 
solations of  Sinai's  law.     For  surely,  a  lean  and  poor 


THE  Walk  to  Emmaus.  241 

sheep  ought  to  be  happy  to  go  to  eternity  under  the 
cheaper  prayers  of  a  simple  Levite.  He  listens,  re- 
clining upon  one  arm,  one  foot  already  out  of  his  bed, 
when  his  chamberlain  approaches  his  bed-chamber 
with  steps  long  and  quick,  and  before  the  door  gives 
the  usual  sign  for  being  admitted.  He  is  called  in, 
and  interrogated.  "The  soldiers  from  the  sepulchre 
of  the  Nazarene  are  below  and  wish  to  see  your  holi- 
ness on  important  and  pressing  business."  "The 
soldiers  from  the  sepulchre.''  Not  possible!"  — 
"With  your  leave,  sir,  the  very  ones."  One  min- 
ute, and  the  high-priest  is  in  his  dress.  "Lead  them 
into  the  private  council-chamber  below,  and  call  the 
whole  Sanhedrim  together  quickly."  The  Sanhedrim 
assembled,  the  Roman  officer  at  the  head  of  the  guard 
is  called  in  and  relates  some  of  the  facts  to  which  we 
attended  in  our  last  meditation,  —  and  the  seventy 
wise  men  of  Israel  are  again  at  their  wit's  end  ;  at 
their  wlVs  end,  but  not  at  the  end  of  their  wickedness. 
Is  he  indeed  risen  !  No  matter.  One  lie  more,  and 
why  not  one  thousand  ?  —  and  truth  will  perish  at 
last,  and  the  cause  of  Satan  prosper.  "  Here  is  a 
handsome  present  for  your  trouble  and  fright,  my 
brave  fellows,"  says  the  high-priest.  "Just  say  to 
the  common  people,  who  know  not  the  law  and  are 
cursed,  — just  say.  We  slept,  and  his  disciples  stole 
him.  And  if  Pilate  should  say  aught,  we  will  give 
him  such  a  hint  of  the  true  state  of  the  case,  and  ac- 
company the  hint  with  such  an  appendix  from  our 
treasury,  as  will  avert  from  you  all  undesirable  conse- 
quences of  your  kind  services  to  us."  The  soldiers 
depart,  the  Sanhedrim  adjourns  not  without  those  se- 
21* 


242  MEDITATIONS. 

cret  misgivings  which  have  well  been  called  the  begin- 
ning of  judgment  to  come  !  You  ask  why  I  relate  thi:^ 
event.  To  connect  the  history  of  the  forenoon  and  the 
aficrnoon  of  our  Lord's  resurrection-day  by  this  event, 
the  only  one  which  remained  to  be  mentioned  among 
the  many  and  various  occurrences  of  that  important 
morning.  The  sun  rose  and  filled  the  city  again  with 
noise  and  bustle  and  the  temple  with  sacrifices,  fire, 
incense,  songs  and  psalms,  with  purchasers  and  sell- 
ers, and  with  the  large  assembly  of  formalists  and 
hypocrites,  mingled  with  a  ^ew  humble  and  sincere 
worshippers  upon  whom  a  better  day  was  soon  to 
dawn.  The  sun  reached  his  meridian  height  and 
passed  it,  and  as  he  descended,  two  more  appearances 
of  our  risen  Lord  signalized  this,  in  the  history  of  our 
world,  unparalleled  day.  I  refer  to  his  appearances  to 
Peter  (which  the  entire  absence  of  particulars  obliges 
tis  to  pass  by)  and  to  the  event  related  in  our  text. 
To  the  consideration  of  this  portion  of  holy  writ,  let 
us  now  attend  with  solemnity  of  mind  and  with  sincere 
desires  for  spiritual  instruction  and  profit  ;  and  may 
He  with  whom  is  the  residue  of  the  spirit,  prepare  our 
minds,  guide  our  thoughts,  and  seal  instruction  to  our 
hearts. 

L     The  conversion  of  the  two  disciples  ; 
n.     Their  reproof  and  instruction  ; 
in.     The  divine  illumination  of  their  minds  ;   and, 
IV.     The  joy  of  their  hearts  ; 
These  are   the   four  topics   to  which  our  attention  will 
chiefly  be  turned. 


tHE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  ^43 

I.  "And  behold,  two  of  them  went  that  same  day 
to  a  village  called  Emmaus,  which  was  from  Jerusalem 
about  three  score  furlongs."  Who  were  they  ?  One 
of  them  was  Cleopas,  or  Cleophas,  the  husband  of  that 
Mary  who  was  the  sister  of  the  mother  of  Christ,  He 
was  also  the  brother  of  Joseph,  the  supposed  father  of 
our  Lord.  He  was  one  of  those  who  belonged  to  the 
narroiver  circle  of  the  friends  of  Christ,  and  who  re- 
mained in  the  most  intimate  connection  with  the  apos- 
tles ever  afterwards.  And  if  Nathaniel  was  the  other, 
I  should  not  be  surprised.  At  all  events,  this  other 
one  also  must  have  been  one  of  the  more  trusty  and 
sincere  friends  of  our  Lord,  one  waiting  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  and  fully  prepared  to  enter  into  all  the 
feelings  of  that  little  flock  which  then  was  scattered 
as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  All  which  these  two 
men  knew  of  the  occurrences  of  the  morning,  was  the 
avowal  of  the  second  company  of  women  who  went  to 
anoint  the  body  of  Christ,  and  that  of  Peter  and  John's 
subsequent  visit  to  the  sepulchre.  You  remember 
what  I  said  in  our  last  meditation  respecting  this  sec- 
ond company  of  females.  Having  heard  these  limited 
and  imperfect  accounts  which  contained  nothing  of 
comfort,  our  two  pilgrims  set  out  on  foot  for  Emmaus, 
a  village  about  seven  and  a  half  miles  from  Jerusalem. 
Either  they  lived  there,  or  they  went  out  on  business  ; 
or  perhaps  they  wished  to  withdraw  a  little  from  the 
noise  and  the  distractions  of  that  city  which  now  had 
become  to  them  an  intolerable  abode.  The  latter 
supposition  is  more  agreeable  both  to  the  state  of 
their  minds  and  the  nature  of  the  conversation,  and 
especially  to  the   fact   that   Christ  thought   them   pre- 


244  MEDITATIONS. 

pared  to  receive  that  distinguishing  manifestation  of 
his  love  to  them,  those  solemn  instructions,  and  those 
soul-refreshing  communications  of  his  spirit  and  his 
grace,  which,  as  we  shall  see,  were  their  peculiar  and 
blessed  privilege  that  day.  You  are  aware  that  these 
two  men  were  sufficiently  enlightened  already  to  expect 
no  warlike  prince  in  the  Messiah.  With  them  he  was 
to  be  B.  prince  of  peace,  a  teacher  of  righteousness,  the 
restorer  of  primitive  innocence,  simplicity  and  happi- 
ness, the  comfort  and  glory  of  Israel,  who,  by  the 
means  of  superior  wisdom,  righteousness  and  love, 
should  bring  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  to  a  willing 
submission  to  his  sceptre.  A  week  ago,  their  voices 
had  joined  on  the  Mount  of  Olives  in  a  peaceful  and 
holy  song  of  praise  to  the  Son  of  David,  who  came  to 
Jerusalem,  meek  and  lowly,  riding  on  an  ass  ;  and 
they  had  no  objection,  then,  to  his  peaceful  and  hum- 
ble exterior.  They  knew  him  too  well  to  expect  any 
other  administration  from  him  than  that  of  equity  and 
love  ;  and  what  they  were  ignorant  of,  was  only  the 
pervading  spirituality  of  his  kingdom,  tlie  free,  grand, 
sovereign  dispensation  of  its  mercies  to  all  ready  to 
receive  them  ;  and  especially  the  manner  in  which  it 
was  to  come,  i.  e.  through  reproach,  weakness,  and 
death. 

They  have  hardly  passed  the  gates  of  Jerusalem, 
when  one  of  them,  breaking  the  silence,  gives  vent  to 
his  feelings  in  some  such  strain  as  this  :  "  Well,  my 
dear  brother,  he  is  dead,  our  Master  is  no  more  ! 
I  cannot,  cannot  believe  it  ;  it  seems  like  a  distress- 
ing, doleful  dream  to  me,  that  he  should  have  been 
scourged  and  crucified  and  buried  ;   but  alas,  alas  !  it 


THE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  245 

is  but  too  true.  And  if  a  man  be  dead,  shall  he  live 
again  ?  O,  where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming,  and 
the  hope  of  Israel  !  And  must  we  die  without  seeing 
the  salvation  of  God's  people  ?  According  to  the 
prophets,  the  time  is  at  hand,  and  he  himself  said  and 
did  many  things,  which  justified  our  expectations  of 
him  ;  and  he  was  a  man  dear  to  us,  and  full  of  the 
wisdom,  power,  and  spirit  of  God.  When  the  ear 
heard  him,  then  it  blessed  him  ;  and  when  the  eye 
saw  him,  it  gave  witness  to  him.  He  taught  with 
power,  and  not  as  our  scribes ;  and  when  he  spoke 
comfort,  it  was  like  manna  and  milk.  My  thoughts 
were  otherwise  ;  soon  every  heart  will  love  him  ;  the 
world  will  choose  him  for  her  friend  and  for  her  king, 
and  the  glory  and  salvation  of  Israel  draweth  nigh. 
But  ah!  he  moulders  in  the  dust, — he  is  dead, — he 
is  dead,  —  and  the  glowing  spark  of  my  fondest 
hope  is  now  extinguished  in  the  deep  darkness  of  his 
grave." 

And  the  reply  of  his  companion  was  equally  replete 
with  sorrow:  "  O,  stop,  you  break  my  heart.  You 
know  I  loved  him  as  much  as  any  one  of  you  did;  and 
ah!  I  cannot  forgive  it  to  our  high-priests.  It  was 
abominable!  And  were  it  not  for  their  sacred  office, 
I  should  curse  them  with  the  heaviest  imprecation  of  the 
law.  Could  I  but  have  died  with  him,  then  I  should  be 
at  ease  and  rid  of  trouble,  and  rest  with  my  father,  for 
I  am  weary  of  life.  But  you  heard,  I  suppose,  of 
Chuza's.wife,  and  the  rest  who  went  to  the  sepulchre, 
and  saw  angels  who  said  he  lived;  and  of  Peter  and 
John;  they  all  found  the  grave  open,  and  what  do  you 
think?"     "Ah!   as  to  the  women,"  the  other  rejoined, 


246  MEDITATIONS. 

**  it  was  dark  when  they  went  out,  and  they  were 
fearful,  and  thought  they  saw  and  heard  something. 
Peter  and  John  went  out  when  it  was  clear  day,  and 
they  found  nothing  but  an  empty  grave;  and  what 
does  that  prove  ?  After  all  we  have  been  mistaken 
about  our  pious  friend.  A  holy,  good  brother  he  was, 
and  indeed  he  seems  to  have  thought  himself  the 
Messiah,  or  we  misunderstood  him,  it  may  be  ;  mis- 
takes are  easy.  At  all  events,  the  Messiah  he  was  not, 
for  he  is  dead  and  buried,  and  Israel  is  not  delivered, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  has  not  come." 

So  they.  Events  like  the  death  of  Christ,  and  mis- 
takes like  those  of  our  disciples,  are  very  common 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  In  this  world,  Herod  is 
king,  and  Caiphas  high-priest,  and  Christ  is  con- 
demned and  crucified  time  and  again,  and  his  people 
are  laughed  to  scorn  as  fools,  and  trodden  under  foot 
and  cast  out  as  the  offscouring  of  the  world.  Where 
is  the  truly  pious  king  in  all  the  eighteen  centuries  of 
our  era  who  had  faith  and  devotion  enough  wholly  to 
lay  down  his  crown  and  sceptre  at  the  feet  of  Christ ! 
whose  cabinet  was  not  more  or  less  based  upon  the 
low  principles  of  brute  force  and  self-interest,  and 
whose  course  was  not  defiled  with  the  maxims  and 
practices  of  the  world  ?  Can  anything  be  more  scarce 
than  such  a  king  .''  What  has  the  true  Church  of 
Christ  yet  experienced  on  earth,  more  than  bare  suf- 
ferance ?  Blessed  be  God,  she  needs  no  more,  and  if 
that  also  be  denied  her,  she  needs  not  that !  She  knows, 
and  she  alone,  how  to  grow  and  spread  amid  the  terrors 
of  persecution.  She  has  realized  the  fable  of  the  phoenix 
coming  forth  young  and  fresh  from  the  burning  furnace, 


THE  WALK  TO  EMMAUS.  247 

and  has  done  so  more  than  once.  But  while  the  storm 
roars  and  the  flames  of  persecution  rage,  the  faith  of 
many  Christians  is  tried  severely,  and  many  a  half  des- 
pairing glance,  and  many  a  half-murmuring  sigh  as- 
cend to  heaven.  The  apostolic  age  had  not  yet  ex- 
pired, when  the  streets  of  Rome  were  already  illumi- 
nated by  burning  Christians  wrapped  in  pitch-cloth, 
while  others,  disguised  in  wild  beasts'  skins,  were 
hunted  down,  and  torn  to  pieces  by  dogs.  The  blood 
of  more  than  forty  thousand  Christians  was  spilled  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  first,  century.  Nero,  Domitian, 
Trajan,  Antoninus,  Severus,  Maximinus,  Decius, 
Valerian,  Aurelian,  and  Dioclesian,  made  havoc  of 
the  little  inoffensive  flock  of  Christ.  Under  the  lat- 
ter monarch,  seventeen  thousand  fell  in  one  month, 
and  within  ten  years,  one  hundred  and  forty-four  thou- 
sand fell  in  Egypt  alone,  besides  seven  hundred  thou- 
sand that  died  in  public  works  to  which  they  were 
condemned,  and  in  banishment.  Against  the  handful 
of  poor,  ignorant  Waldenses,  who  had  nothing  and 
knew  nothing  but  their  Bible,  the  Inquisition  must  be 
raised,  and  the  judgment-day  alone  will  disclose  the  hor- 
rors of  its  unexplored  caverns  and  jails.  One  single 
Arian  queen  from  among  the  northern  nations  butch- 
ered one  hundred  thousand  Trinitarians  before  she 
died.  Under  the  hand  of  the  mad  Spaniards  there  fell 
in  Holland  upwards  of  one  hundred  thousand  so  called 
heretics.  France  needs  but  to  be  mentioned  to  excite 
horror  and  disgust.  All  that  is  cruel,  all  that  is 
shameless,  was  practised  upon  Protestant  heretics 
there.  Bartholomew's  night,  in  1572,  will  be  a  prom- 
inent and  absorbing  case  in  the  decisions  of  the  judg- 


S48  MEDITATIONS. 

ment    day.     Besides    the    scenes    of    Paris,    those    of 
Meaux,  Angers,  Orleans,  Troyes,  Bourges,  La  Charite 
and  Lyons,  will   come   to   light ;     nor  will   the   bloody 
high-mass  of  Gregory  XIII.  at  Rome,  with  his   Cardi- 
nals, and  all  their  pomp  and  exultation,   be  forgotten, 
by  W'hich  they  commemorated  the  death  of  one  hundred 
thousand    innocent   persons.     Louis  XIV.  of  France, 
the  admired  monarch,   the  great  man,  (though  Luci«- 
fer  is   greater  than   he)    committed    outrages    against 
Christians  which   Nero   and  Dioclesian  did   not   com- 
mit.    The   scenes   of  England  are  too  familiar  to  my 
audience  to  need  a  mention.     About  the  middle  of  the 
17th  century,  from  forty  to  fifty  thousand    defenceless 
individuals  suffered  death  within  a  few  days  in  Ireland. 
And   Scotland,  Spain,  Germany,  Bohemia,  etc.,  would 
furnish   us  with   facts   sufficient   to  fill  the  world  with 
them.      And   how   could    the    Church   live,   you   ask.? 
How  she   lived,    I   cannot  tell  ;    but  that  she  did  live, 
we   know.     Yea,    what    I   have    mentioned   could   not 
impede  her  growth.     Under   such  circumstances,   the 
Church   not   only   lived,    but   budded    and   blossomed 
like   Carmel  and    Sharon.     But   when  I  think   of  the 
sealing  up   of  the   Bible   till  the  art   of  printing  was 
invented,    when    1   think    of  the    one    thousand    years 
darkness   from   Augustine   to  Luther  ;    when   1   think 
of  all  the   ruinous   errors    in    doctrine    and    practice, 
which  crept   in  at    different  times  into   Christendom  ; 
when  I  think   of   all   the  sects   which  sprung  up,   and 
whose  very  names  would  fill  pages;   when  I  think  of  all 
the   scientific   and   literary  crusades  made   against  the 
Bible;   when  I  think  of  the  calm,  strong-minded  scepti- 
cism of  England,  by  which  the  five  senses  which  every 
animal  has  in  common  with  us,  were  made  to  defy  and 


THE   Walk  to  emmaus.  249 

to  silence  the  divine  voice  within  man,  and  the  forebo- 
ding of  eternity,  or  of  the  sparkling  wit  and  the  learned 
atheism  of  France,  by  which  they  meant  to  prove  that 
their  souls  and  ours  were  made  of  mud,  —  or  of  the 
criticisms  and  metaphysics  of  Germany,  that  were  to 
convert  lis,  the  one  into  Grammars  and  Lexicons,  the 
other  into  vapor  and  nothing;  when  I  think  of  these 
batteries,  all  directed  against  the  simple  tale  of  the 
gospel,  all  contrived  and  managed  by  the  arch-fiend  of 
everything  good  and  holy,  to  tear  from  us  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  I  am  amazed,  1  am  overwhelmed,  I 
must  cry  out.  Lord,  was  it  possible  that  the  church 
could  live  ?  Yes  ;  it  was.  Was  not  thy  word,  whose 
every  syllable  has  been  doubted,  examined,  distorted, 
denied,  mocked,  cursed,  prohibited,  was  it  not  buried 
up  in  eternal  oblivion,  or  torn  in  peacemeal  and  scat- 
tered to  the  four  winds  of  heaven  ?  No  !  no  !  The 
word  and  Church  of  Christ  stand  yet  untouched,  and 
while  HE  stxinds,  they  will.  Though  Herod  be  king  on 
earth  and  Caiphas  high-priest,  Jesus  is  both  king  and 
high-priest  in  heaven  !  But  v/hile  all  this  is  going  on, 
many  a  dejected  Cleophas  wandering  to  Emmaus  with 
his  fellow-sufTerers,  exclaims,  "Ah  !  we  trusted  that  it 
had  been  he  who  should  have  redeemed  Israel  !  " 

We  proceed  to  our  second  topic,  and  then  will  they 
find  their  answer. 

n.  The  road  to  Emmaus  was  a  solitary  one,  espe- 
cially at  this  time.  Our  pilgrims  had  ample  opportu- 
nity to  unbosom  themselves  freely.  They  were  in  no 
particular  hurry  ;  they  walked  along,  now  slower,  now 
quicker,  now  they  stop,  then  they  proceed  again,  just 

CfC) 


250  MEDITATIONS. 

as  men  are  apt  to  do  who  are  engaged  in  an  absorbing 
and  affecting  theme  of  conversation.  By  and  by  a  sol- 
itary stranger  overtakes  them.  They  take  him  for  a 
pilgrim  from  abroad,  and  his  appearance  was  so  pre- 
possessing and  lovely,  that  they  proceed  with  their 
conversation,  void  of  any  apprehension  of  peril.  The 
stranger,  instead  of  passing  on  ahead  of  them,  seems 
inclined  to  keep  them  company  ;  and  after  the  usual 
salutation  of  peace,  he  addressed  them  in  some  such 
way  as  this:  "Men  and  brethren,  I  perceive  your 
minds  and  hearts  are  deeply  engaged  in  a  serious 
though  melancholy  subject  of  conversation.  1  too  feel 
interested  in  whatsoever  concerns  a  higher  and  better 
world  than  this;  and  the  promises  of  God,  the  hope  of 
Israel  and  the  spiritual  welfare  of  every  soul  under 
heaven,  are  subjects  very  near  and  dear  to  my  heart. 
But  I  have  not  been  able  to  gather  any  meaning  or 
connection  from  your  abrupt  exclamations  and  re- 
marks. What  manner  of  communications,  then,  are 
these,  that  ye  have  one  to  another  as  ye  walk,  and  are 
sad  ?  Those  that  fear  the  Lord  speak  often  one  to 
another,  as  the  prophet  says,  and  who  knows  what  spir- 
itual enjoyment  and  comfort  a  free,  brotherly  exchange 
of  feeling  and  of  divine  knowledge,  may  yield  us  by 
the  way."  Cleophas  and  his  companion  no  sooner 
discern  in  this  stranger  a  pious  brother,  than  they 
unburden  their  hearts  in  the  lively  and  affecting  man- 
ner of  our  text,  expecting,  probably,  many  questions, 
and  much  of  wonder  and  perplexity  on  the  part  of  the 
foreigner.  But  what  was  their  surprise,  think  you, 
when  they  perceived  his  sweet  countenance  over- 
spreading with  something  of  that  same  divine  ease  and 


THE    WALK    TO     EMMAUS.  251 

calmness,  and  his  pensive  eye  glancing  away,  as  it 
were,  over  the  plains  of  heaven  and  eternity  with  that 
same  profound  and  enrapturing  intensity,  which  they 
used  to  think  the  exclusive  characteristics  of  their  de- 
ceased Rabhi  of  Nazareth.  How  strange,  when  he 
opened  his  lips  to  express  his  astonishment  at  nothing 
save  their  unbelief,  and  when,  after  the  faithful  and 
tender  reproof,  he  commenced  a  cou^rse  of  divine  in- 
struction, which  expanded  their  minds  to  a  thousand 
new  ideas,  and  poured  a  river  of  consolation  and  joy 
into  their  wounded  hearts,  "  O,  ye  fools,  and  slow  of 
heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken  ! 
Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and  to 
enter  into  his  glory  ?"  What!  have  you  forgotten  that 
the  woman's  seed,  the  Restorer  of  ilie  fall,  will  not 
crush  the  serpent's  head  without  having  his  own  heel 
crushed  first  ?  You  know  the  universal  law  of  con- 
science recognized  by  the  sacrifices  of  Moses,  that 
without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of 
sin,  and  the  universal  law  of  reason  recognized  by  the 
repetition  of  those  sacrifices,  that  the  blood  of  beasts 
cannot  take  it  away,  — and  do  you  draw  no  inference 
from  this  ?  Moses  has  told  you,  '  Cursed  is  every 
one  that  abideth  not  in  all  things  written  in  the  book 
of  the  law  to  do  them  ;'  and  again  he  has  told  you, 
'  Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree  ;'  and 
the  Messiah  is  to  redeem  you  from  the  curse  of  the 
broken  law,  and  your  lamented  friend  has  been 
hanged  on  a  tree,  —  and  does  not  the  grand  and  cheer- 
ing inference  meet  you  at  the  very  threshhold  ?  What 
meaneth  the  brazen  serpent  Vvhich  Moses  raised  for  the 
healing  of  the  people  ?     Have  you  altogether  forgotten 


252  MEDITATlOxVS. 

the  opposition  of  the  kings  and  princes  of  the  earth  to 
Jehovah,  and  to  his  Son,  as  it  is  described  in  the  sec- 
ond Psalm,  and  the  P^'Iessiah's  sufferings  in  the  twenty- 
second  and  the  sixty-ninth  Psalms,  and  the  glory  which 
was  to  follow  ?  But  if  all  this  has  escaped  your  atten- 
tion, how  was  it  possible  for  you  to  overlook  what  Isaiah 
says  of  the  small  beginning  of  the  Messiah's  reign, 
of  his  sufferings,  reproaches,  and  death,  as  the  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  a  world  ;  of  the  opposition  of  the 
Jews  to  their  own  Saviour,  and  of  the  previous  salva- 
tion of  the  heathen  world  before  Israel  will  return  to 
God  as  a  people,  and  look  upon  him  whom  they  have 
pierced  ?  Are  all  your  priests  and  scribes  able  to  ex- 
plain to  you  that  portion  of  Isaiah  which  begins,  "Be- 
hold, my  servant  shall  deal  prudently,  etc."  unless  they 
admit  that  the  Messiah  is  first  to  die  for  your  sins,  and 
then  to  rise  and  to  reign  forever  ?  They  are  not,  nor 
will  they  ever  be  able.  Is  not  the  Messiah  to  be  smit- 
ten as  a  shepherd,  and  his  disciples  to  be  scattered  as 
sheep  ^  Is  not  '  the  Messiah  '  to  be  '  cut  off,  but  not 
for  himself,'  'to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make 
an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity, 
and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal 
up  the  visions  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most 
holy,'  his  spiritual  sanctuary,  the  church  on  earth,  and 
prepare  the  temple  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens,  for  the  reception  of  all  his  followers  into 
never-ending  rest  and  glory  t 

Thus,  only  more  at  large  and  infinitely  better,  did 
our  blessed  Lord  expound  to  the  astonished  pilgrims  of 
Emmaus  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  indeed,  "  the 
whole  counsel  of  God."     And  above  all  things,  he   in- 


THE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  253 

troduced  tliem  into   tlie   great   secret   of  his   kingdom, 
namely,  that  the  way  to  glory    for   Christ    himself,   for 
his  word,  his  doctrine,    and   his    people,  leads   through 
Gethsemane,  over  Calvary,  through   the  valley   of  the 
shadow    of  death,    through    shame    and   blame   unde- 
served, through  much  weakness,  tribulation,  and  fear. 
A  secret  -which  neither  the  world  nor  Satan  will  under- 
stand, though  they  hear  it  ringing    in  their   ears   from 
every    truly    Christian    pulpit,  until    they  shall  see  the 
Son    of  man    cominjj    in    the    clouds    of   heaven   with 
power   and   great    glory.       Such    scenes     have     been 
repeated   on  a  larger    or  smaller   scale,    innumerable 
times.      It    is   but   a   icw  years   since,   that,   in    some 
Christian     countries,    unbelieving   hirelings   were  ob- 
truded by  the    civil    arm    upon    a   thousand    congrega- 
tions, to  feed  the  poor  people  with  the    empty  straw  of 
moral    essays,    and  with    the    apostate    speculations  of 
corrupt  universities  ;    and  to  approach,  in  the  midst  of 
God's  church   and    people,    the   throne    of   glory  with 
senseless,  heartless,   printed  mockeries,  in  the  form  of 
prayers  and  liturgies.    Strict  attendance  to  divine  wor- 
ship was  ordered,  and  every  kind  and  degree  of  method- 
ism  and  mysticism,  i.  e.,  all  social  prayer-meetings,  and 
Bible-reading,    and   pious   conversation,   severely  for- 
bidden.   Many  were  doomed  to  prison,  many  were  beat- 
en,   many    who    could   fly,  fled.     In   another   country, 
which  then  professed   great  attachment  to   vital   godli- 
ness, the  proceedings  of  the  Bible  society  were  stopped 
at  once  ;    pious  ministers  were  exiled,  unheard  and  un- 
condemned,  and  the  people  were  left  like   sheep   with- 
out a  shepherd.     And  I  have  seen  the  effects  with  my 
eyes,    and   heard   them   with   my   ears.     O,  what  pale 
22* 


254  MEDITATIONS. 

faces  !  O,  what  sighs,  doubts,  and  fears  !  "  We 
trusted  that  it  had  been  he  who  should  have  re- 
deemed Israel  ! "  But  to  these,  and  all  in  similar 
distress,  we  can  onlj  say,  "  O,  (ye)  fools  and 
slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have 
spoken  !  "  Come,  open  your  blessed  Bible,  read  its 
pages,  and  in  the  light  thereof,  view  once  more  the 
changing  scenes  of  this  world  ;  and  you  will  soon  per- 
ceive a  mutual  agreement  and  a  symmetry  which 
abundantly  demonstrate  the  presence  of  a  divine  hand 
in  either  case.  Why  is  Abel  slain,  and  Cain  permitted 
to  live  ?  Why  is  Enoch,  whose  pious  influence  was 
so  much  needed,  taken  away,  while  Nimrod  builds 
cities  and  towers,  and  plants  kingdoms,  and  tyrannizes 
over  the  world  ?  Why  is  Abraham  a  wanderer  and 
stranger,  while  the  Canaanite  possesses  and  defiles  the 
land  of  promise  .•*  Why  must  Jacob  flee,  and  Esau 
remain  in  the  paternal  house  }  Why  is  David  a 
fugitive  in  the  earth,  while  the  reprobated  Saul  pos- 
sesses the  kingdom  ?  Why  must  Jonathan,  the  noble, 
pious  prince,  fall  in  battle,  and  Ishbosheth  live  to 
trouble  David,  and  by  his  ambition  to  occasion  the 
slaughter  of  thousands  ?  Why  are  the  prophets  of 
Jehovah  killed  by  Jezebel,  like  sheep,  and  the  priests 
of  Baal  and  Ashtaroth  live  and  riot  upon  the  sweat  of 
the  poor,  and  corrupt  the  ignorant  ?  Why  must 
Elijah,  who  had  been  very  jealous  for  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  hosts,  make  his  escape  like  a  thief,  and  Jezebel 
remain  on  her  throne,  to  reestablish  the  impure  wor- 
ship of  Jupiter,  and  of  Venus  ?  Why  must  the  infant 
Jesus  flee  to  Egypt,  and  Herod  sit  quietly  in  Jerusa- 
lem ?      And    why   were    the   holy   prophets   constantly 


THE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  255 

''persecuted  and  slain,"  and  why  did  the  apostles  die 
the  death  of  martyrs,  and  Stephen  with  them,  and 
multitudes  of  others?  Why  ?  The  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  not  of  this  world,  and  the  disciple  is  not  above  his 
master,  nor  servant  above  his  lord.  This  is  the  straight 
and  narrow  path  which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  there 
is  none  other.  But  be  of  good  cheer,  you  who 
suffer  for  righteousness'  sake, — your  path  leads  unto 
life.  Though  Herod  be  king  on  earth,  and  Caiphas 
be  high-priest,  Jesus  is  both  King  and  high-priest  in 
heaven. 

III.     KuL  \vc  must  hasten  to  return  to  our  travellers, 
fjr  they  arc  already  drawing  near  to  Emmaus. 

While  the  dear  stranger  uttered  his  "  gracious 
words,"  Cleophas  and  his  companion  observed  the 
most  profound  and  respectful  silence.  They  listened 
as  to  words  of  eternal  life;  and  indeed  that  they  would 
have  been,  had  they  been  accompanied  by  no  higher 
gift.  But  when  Jesus  speaks,  he  speaks  more  than 
words.  While  speaking,  he  communicated  to  their 
minds  that  heavenly  unction,  without  which  no  true 
knowledge  of  divine  things  ever  existed.  He  opened 
their  minds,  that  they  understood  the  Scriptures.  They 
were  distinctly  conscious  of  this  fact,  though  their 
attention  was  not  called  to  it  until  "  he  vanished  out  of 
their  sight."  "Did  not  our  hearts  burn  within  us 
while  he  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  he 
opened  to  us  the  Scriptures  .''"  That  I  interpret  this 
passage  rightly,  you  may  see  from  a  comparison  of 
V.  45,  where  it  is  said  in  reference  to  the  apostles, 
*'  Then  opened  he  (Christ)    their   understanding,    that 


256  MEDITATIONS* 

they  might  understand  the  Scriptures.  Here,  the  mean- 
ing cannot  be  restricted  fo  mere  verbal  expositions  of 
Scripture  passages;  for  that  privilege,  the  apostles  had 
enjoyed  for  some  three  years,  and  still,  their  understand- 
ing was  most  evidently  not  "  opened."  On  this  impor- 
tant subject  I  shall  have  more  to  say,  when.  Providence 
permitting,  we  shall  come  to  a  consideration  of  the 
passage  just  quoted.  Here  it  may  suffice  to  observe, 
that  the  thing  spoken  of  in  either  passage  is  that  divine 
illumination  of  the  mind  by  which  the  spiritual  meaning, 
beauty  and  power  of  divine  truth  is  revealed  to  the 
quickened  and  sanctified  apprehension  of  man.  This 
divine  light  is  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the  renewed 
heart  ;  and  is  common  to  all  the  children  of  God.  It 
is  distinct  from  the  spirit  of  inspiration  afterwards 
communicated  to  the  apostles,  as  we  shall  see  on  that 
future  opportunity  already  alluded  to.  It  is  distinct 
also  from  the  oral  instruction  of  Christ.  Hundreds  of 
times  he  had  given  oral  instruction  to  thousands  ;  but 
it  is  no  where  said  that  he  opened  the  understanding 
of  the  people  or  even  of  the  apostles  ;  nor  did  they  in 
reality  ever  understand  him  wholly.  Here,  this  gift  is 
first  mentioned  ;  it  is  mentioned  distinct  from  the  oral 
instructions  themselves,  and  therefore  differs  from 
them,  if  the  evangelist  spoke  sense. 

O  that  I  could  now  dip  my  pen  in  the  river  of 
life,  or  in  the  crystal  sea,  or  in  the  rainbow  around 
the  throne  of  God,  to  portray,  in  all  its  supernat- 
ural beauty,  the  wondrous  moment  when  the  heavy 
scales  from  sin  and  gross  sense  drop  from  the  eyes 
of  the  repenting  sinner,  and  the  realities  of  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  are  revealed  to  him  through  the  mirror 


THE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  257 

of  the  divine  Word  !  Men  and  brethren,  it  is  no  vis- 
ion, no  dream,  no  morbid  state  of  mind.  It  is 
sound,  wakeful  reality  ;  and  the  mind  which  expe- 
riences what  I  say,  is  calm  as  the  breathless  ocean 
and  clear  as  a  sunbeam,  and  is  the  new-created  star 
of  Bethlehem,  On  the  contrary,  the  common  frame  of 
mind,  in  which  we  are  by  nature,  appears  then  com- 
paratively like  a  distressing,  feverish  dream,  like  a 
strange  delirium,  or  stupor,  to  which  we  look  back 
with  terror  and  amazement. 

If  you  permit  me  an  imperfect  comparison,  I 
should  liken  a  man  whose  mind  becomes  enlighten- 
ed on  divine  subjects,  to  a  lost  traveller  groping 
through  the  blackness  of  night,  amid  the  howling  of  a 
storm  and  the  pelting  rain.  The  country  is  unknown 
to  him,  and  perilous  ;  and  he  feels  carefully  his  un- 
certain and  slippery  way  with  his  staff,  to  avoid  the 
precipices  which  surround  him.  O  hov/  he  wislies  for 
the  day  !  At  last,  the  east  begins  to  dawn  ;  he  can 
select  his  steps;  his  path  seems  to  lie  on  an  eminence, 
but  the  valley  beneath  and  the  horizon  around  arc  still 
wrapt  in  a  thick,  impenetrable  fog.  As  yet,  all  is 
dreariness  and  chill,  and  heaven  and  earth  seem  to  be 
in  sackcloth.     By  and  by,  the  golden  sun  rises,  and 

"  Pillows  his  chin  upon  an  orient  wave, 

The  flocking  shadows  pale 

Troop  to  the  infernal  jail, 

Each  fettered  ghost  slips  to  his  several  grave." 

The  gilded  mountain   tops  proclaim  a  clear  and  cheer- 
ful day  ;    the  rays  of  the  sun  pierce  the  vapors  in  a 


253  MEDITATIONS. 

thousand  directions  ;  cloud  after  cloud  takes  wing, 
and  speeds  away,  till  they  leave  to  our  traveller 
the  wonderful  spectacle  of  a  boundless  landscape, 
set  with  all  the  jewelry  of  the  morning  dew,  and 
glowing  with  the  purity  and  the  freshness  of  par- 
adise as  far  and  wide  as  the  eye  can  reach.  But 
what  have  we  been  about  ?  Has  our  "  parable"  done 
at  all  justice  to  its  subject  ?  Can  a  mere  shadow  do 
justice  to  reality  ?  Verily,  I  am  tired  myself  of  words 
and  comparisons  so  unfit  for  my  purpose.  O  that  I 
could  open  the  eyes  of  those  here  who  do  not  under- 
stand me,  to  see  my  meaning.  How  astonished  would 
they  be,  and  how  would  we  all  rejoice  together  in  the 
blessed  contemplation  and  prospect  of  a  better  world  ! 
But  to  give  you  that  illumination  of  mind,  is  the  pre- 
rogative of  Jesus  ;  and  to  him  must  I  commend  your 
case.  Remember  this  —  you  know  not  what  your 
Bible  is  ;  you  never  will  know  it  till  you  seek  and  find 
the  light  of  heaven. 

IV.      We  hasten  to  the  close. 

Our  pilgrims  have  now  arrived  at  Emmaus.  They 
stand  before  the  door  of  that  pious  family  where  the 
two  disciples  intended  to  put  up  for  the  night.  The 
stranger  wants  to  proceed  ;  but  they  urge  him  to  re- 
main. "Abide  with  us,  for  it  is  toward  evening  and 
the  day  is  far  spent."  How  can  we,  dearest  brother, 
part  with  thee  so  soon  ?  Our  hearts  long  to  be  filled 
with  thy  blessed  company,  pious  stranger  ;  and  then, 
it  is  evening,  and  the  night  comes  apace,  and  we  should 


THE  Walk  to  emmaus.  259 

love   so   much  to  make  thee  comfortable   here.     Abide 
^ith   us,   dearest   one,    and  if  thou  wilt   condescend  to 
teach  us  still  farther,  we  will   listen   to  thee,  and  pray 
and  hope  and  rejoice  with  thee  till  the  rising   sun,   and 
then  thou  shalt  depart   in   peace.     Therefore,    "  abide 
with   us."      The   stranger  yields,    and  they   enter   in. 
Soon  the  frugal   supper  is  prepared,  and  they  sit  down 
to  the  meal.     The  dignified  stranger  assumes  the  place 
and   office   of  the   host,    and   the   two  travellers  cheer- 
fully and  respectfully  yield  to  him  that   privilege.      He 
takes    the    bread    and    looks    up  ;     they    look   on   with 
amazement  ;  —  "  what  a  look  is  this  !    what  a  glance 
into  the   third   heaven  !    is  this   our  dear no,  im- 
possible !  " —  He   gives  thanks,  —  and  they  are  ready 
to  sink  to  the  ground  with  wonder,  fear,    and  joy.  — 
*'It  is  his  voice  —  it  is  his  voice  !"      Now  their   eyes 
are   opened.      "Yes,  these   are   his  very  looks,  —  and 
we  knew  him  not,  the  dearest  master  !  "     They  rise  to 
clasp    him    in    their    arms  ;     but    he    vanishes    out   of 
their   sight.     To   paint   their   surprise    and   their   feel- 
ings, would  be  a  vain    endeavor.      Their   hearts   over- 
flow with  joy.       The  supper  remains  untouched  on  the 
table  ;   and,  late  as  it    is,  they   go,  yea,  they  run  back 
to  Jerusalem,    to   bring  word  to  the  eleven.     Breath- 
less, they  burst  into  the  room.     They  find  them  in  one 
place  assembled,   and  as   they    enter,    it    echoes    from 
every   side,    "  the  Lord  has  risen,  and  has  appeared  to 
Simon,"      "Yea,    and   to  us  too,"   they  reply,  and  re- 
late the  whole  of  the   event,    interrupting  one   another 
in  their  haste, 

^'  Did  not  our  hearts  burn  within  us,  while  he  talked 


260  mlditaTions. 

with  us  ?  "  Indeed,  and  well  might  they.  Divine 
knowledge  gives  divine  joy.  The  man  whose  religion 
consists  in  cold  speculation  and  a  cheerless  orthodoxy, 
is  a  starving,  perishing  soul.  But  that  man  who  feels 
his  sins  forgiven  and  his  iniquities  pardoned,  who 
knows  his  name  written  in  heaven  and  his  peace  made 
with  God,  that  man's  heart  burns.  Away  he  flies  to 
seek  like-feeling  souls,  that  may  help  his  inexperienced 
voice  to  strike  up  a  joyful  psalm  of  gratitude  and  love. 
"  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speak- 
eth."  Taught  by  the  unction  of  which  we  spoke,  he 
knows,  he  feels  what  the  unbelieving  scholar's  eye,  or 
ear,  or  heart  never  experienced;  he  feels  the  meaning 
of  the  sacred  poet,  when  he  sings,  "  My  beloved  spake, 
and  said  unto  me.  Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and 
come  away.  For  lo,  the  ivirdcr  is  past,  the  rain  is  over, 
and  gone  ;  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth  ;  the  time  of 
the  singing  of  l)irds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle 
is  heard  in  our  land.  Already  the  fig-tree  embalmeth 
her  fruit,  and  the  budding  vines  smell  sweetly.  Arise, 
my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away.  O  thou,  my 
dove  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  and  in  the  hiding-places  of 
the  rough  precipice  !  Let  me  goo  thy  countenance,  let 
me  hear  thy  voice  ;  for  sweet  is  thy  voice,  and  thy 
countenance  is  comely.  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little 
foxes  which  destroy  the  vineyard  ;  for  our  vineyards 
are  all  one  blossom.  It  is  enough  that  my  beloved  is 
mine,  and  I  am  his, — his,  who  feedeth  among  the 
lilies.  At  the  evening  breeze,  O  my  friend,  and  when 
the  stretching  shadows  flee  awav,  then  return  thou 
unto  me,  like  a  roe  or  a  young   hart  over  the  dividing 


THE  WALK  TO  EMMAUS.  261 

hills."     And  let  no   profane  and  worldly-minded  sage 
check  or  mock  the   sacred  overflowings   of  the   new- 
born soul  ;    or  let  him   first  take  away  the  soothing, 
healing  power  of  the   balm   of  Gilead  and  destroy  the 
consolations  of  the  cross  of  Christ,    the   soul-stirring 
energies  of  eternal  truth,  and  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come.     Let  him  not  dare  to  stretch  beyond  his  line, 
(short,  alas,  it  is  !)  nor  judge  of  things  which  he  never 
felt.     As  well  might  you  prevent  the  birds  from  sing- 
ing, and  the   lilies  from  blossoming   when  the   genial 
powers   of  spring   move   in   the  bosom   of  the  earth. 
Are  there   any   of  my  readers,   whose   hearts    neveu 
burnt  as  he  spoke  unto  them  and  as  he  opened  to  them 
the   scriptures  ?      Your  case   is   one   which    calls   for 
tender  pity  ;    your   life   is   not   worth   having  ;     and  if 
you  die  as  you  lived,  your  existence  is  a  curse.     But 
your   case   is  one,   too,    which   calls  for  unsparing  re- 
proof.    Our   disciples,   as  they  walked  along,  "talked 
together  of  all   these   things  which  had  happened  "   at 
Jerusalem,  —  and   then    ''Jesus  himself  drew  near  and 
went  with  them. ^*     But  of  what  have  you  talked  by  the 
way,  thus  far;    of  what  are  you   talking  ?     Give  now, 
I   pray  you,   glory  to  the   Lord   and   make  confession 
unto   him  :   have   you    not   talked    about    anything   but 
Christ   and   his   cross  .'*     Of  fashions,   amusements,   of 
politics   and  literature,   at  best,  you  converse  ;   and  is 
religion  not  worth   one  of  your    moments  .''     Say  now, 
what  would   be  your   feelings  if  some  Christian  friend 
should  endeavor  to  talk  with  you  faithfully  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion  ?     You   know   it,    and   I    know   it  too  ; 
but   do   you   think  that   thus   Jesus   himself  will   ever 
draw  near  to  you  and  walk  with  you  .'*     Never  ! 
23 


!262  M£r)ITATlONS. 

But  you,  who  know  the  love  of  Christ,  let  us  close 
this  meditation  by  joining  with  one  consent  in  the 
petition  of  our  two  pilgrim  brethren.  Lord  !  '*  abide 
with  us,  for  it  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far 
spent."  Some  of  us  have  passed  the  meridian  of  life, 
and  our  evening  may  soon  draw  near.  When  our  sun 
sets  and  our  eyes  grow  dim,  when  the  night  of  death 
surrounds  us,  and  every  earthly  comfort  fails,  ■ —  O, 
then  "  abide  with  us  !  "  When  we  can  no  more  read 
thy  Word,  when  our  tongues  can  no  more  talk  of  all 
these  things,  nor  our  ears  perceive  the  voice  of  prayer 
and  Christian  consolation  and  sympathy,  —  O,  then 
*'  abide  with  us  !  "  Or  if  the  sun  of  every  earthly 
comfort  must  set  upon  us,  if  contempt,  or  poverty,  or 
nakedness,  or  hunger,  or  persecution,  or  peril  by  land 
and  sea,  or  the  solitude  of  a  long  and  painful  sick  bed 
must  ever  try  our  faith  and  obedience,  and  no  Chris- 
tian brother  can  stand  by  us,  —  O,  then  "abide  thou 
with  us."  Let  us  but  hear  thy  voice,  saying,  It  is  I, 
fear  not  ;  and  we  will  not  fear,  not  murmur.  Or  if 
we  must  long  sojourn  in  Mesech  and  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  Kedar  ;  if  our  souls  must  long  dwell  with  them 
that  hate  peace,  far,  far  away,  at  a  hopeless  dis- 
tance, from  the  earthly  sanctuary  of  our  God  where 
our  friends  and  kindred  dwell; — O,  then  "abide 
with  us,"  for  it  is  evening  with  us  —  it  is  evening; 
our  best  years  are  gone  by,  and  our  day  is  far  spent. 
When  none  will  walk  with  us,  then  draw  thou  near. 
When  none  will  speak  with  us,  then  speak  thou  unto 
us  words  of  life  and  joy  ;  come  in  and  .tarry  with  us, 
and  bless  and  break  unto  us  the  bread  of  life.  If  thou 
be   with    us,   we   will  be  content  while  we  live.     We 


THE    WALK    TO    EMMAUS.  263 

will  remember  that  our  life  is  but  a  hasty  pilgrimage, 
but  three  score  furlongs,  but  a  vapor  which  appeareth 
for  a  little  while,  a  shadow,  a  short  and  foolish  dream; 
but  that 

"  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight 
Where  saints  immortal  n  ign," 

and  where  we  shall  see  thee  whom  our  soul  loveth, 
and  all  thy  people,  forever.     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


XII. 


THE  GREAT  EVENING. 


LUKE    XXTV,    36—48;   JOHN    XX,    19-23. 

And  as  they  thus  spake,  Jesus  himself  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  saitk 
onto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you.  But  they  were  terrified  and  affrighted,  and  sup- 
posed  that  they  had  seen  a  spirit.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Why  are  ye  troubled  f 
and  why  do  thoughts  arise  in  your  hearts  ?  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that 
it  is  I  myself:  handle  me,  and  see;  for  a  spirit  halh  not  flesh  and  bones,  at  ye  les 
me  have.  And  when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  shewed  them  his  hands  and  his  feet* 
And  while  thiy  yet  believed  not  for  joy,  and  wondered,  he  said  unto  them.  Have 
ye  here  any  meat?  And  they  gave  him  a  piece  of  a  broiled  fish,  and  of  an  honey* 
eomb.  And  he  took  it,  and  did  eat  before  them.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Theta 
are  the  words  which  1  spake  unio  you,  while  f  was  yet  with  you,  that  all  thingti 
must  be  fulfilled  which  were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  an4 
in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me.  Then  opened  hn  their  understanding,  that  they 
might  understand  the  scriptures,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thai 
it  behoveth  Christ  to  suffer, and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day:  And  that 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among  all  da- 
tions,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.     And  ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things. 

Then  the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  dooH 
were  shut  where  the  disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  came  Jesns; 
and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you.     And  when  h« 

23* 


t66  MEDITATIONS. 

kid  so  said,  fan  ihewed  onto  them  his  hands  and  his  side.  TJien  were  the  disci- 
plea  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord.  Then  said  Jesus  to  them  again.  Peace  be 
Uiito  yuu  :  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had 
•sid  this,  he  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Whose  soever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto  them  ;  and  whose  soever  sins 
ye  retain,  they  are  retained. 

Nothing  would  be  more  imperfect  and  inadequate, 
than  to  suppose  the  various  appearances  of  our  Lord, 
after  his  resurrection,  were  intended  merely  to  con- 
vince his  disciples  and  other  followers  of  his  being 
risen  from  the  dead.  Such  a  view  would  confine  us 
<o  the  mere  fraction  of  a  plan,  deep-cast,  penetrating 
both  the  minds  of  men  and  the  veil  of  futurity,  beyond 
everything  predicable  of  a  man^s  contrivance  in  the 
exercise  of  his  most  unusual  powers.  We  must  keep 
in  mind,  that  when  we  hear  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  a  very  different  idea  is  conveyed  to  our  minds, 
if  we  possess  at  all  a  knowledge  of  the  sacred  scrip- 
tures, from  that  which  the  disciples  could  have  de- 
rived from  such  tidings.  They  had  no  New  Testament 
ip  their  hands  ;  no  eighteen  Christian  centuries  be- 
hind them,  to  unlock  unto  them  the  profound  significa- 
tion of  their  Lord's  resurrection.  He  is  risen  from 
t^e  dead  !  Joyful  news  !  But  the  first  idea  which 
must  have  struck  them,  is :  well,  Lazarus  also  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  and  several  others  in  past  times. 
But,  of  course  they  rose  again  merely  to  live  a  few 
jr^ars  longer,  and  then  to  die  again  and  sleep  with 
their  fathers.  Is  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  like 
unto  theirs  ?  And  why  should  it  not  .?  He  will  live 
with  us  ;  he  will  teach  us  a  few  years  more  ;  he  will 
perhaps,  after  all,  establish  some  earthly  kingdom,  and 
on  his  ultimate   peaceful  and  honorable  exit  from  this 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  '267 

world,  will  leave  Israel,  and  perhaps  the  whole  world, 
in  that  condition  of  perfect  piety,  peace,  and  prosper- 
ity, for  which  we  are  sighing.  How  inadequate  this, 
though  much  improved,  conception  would  have  been, 
and  how  unlike  to  the  transcendingly  spiritual  plan  of 
Christ,  needs  no  mention.  Or,  they  might  have 
thought,  some  of  the  saints  too,  which  slept,  have 
risen  and  **  appeared  unto  many,"  and  so  is  he  also 
risen,  and  they  will  go  to  heaven  together,  and  we 
shall  by  and  by  follow  them  and  be  forever  happy 
with  them  ;  and  this  is  all  which  he  means  by 
his  appearing  unto  us.  Comfortable  indeed  would 
this  idea  have  been,  but  still  how  short  of  the  whole 
reality  before  us,  is  obvious  again.  They  needed 
to  be  taught,  not  merely  that  he  was  risen  from  the 
dead^  but  also  that  his  existence  was,  though  really 
bodily^  yet  so  spiritual  at  the  same  time,  and  so  di- 
vinely independent  as  to  be  calculated  for  a  rational 
and  moral  foundation  upon  which  was  to  be  reared  the 
great  doctrine  of  the  spiritual,  yet  real,  communion 
and  intercourse  which  he  held  with  the  apostles  and 
still  holds  with  every  believer  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
and  to  the  utmost  limits  of  time  :  an  intercourse,  you 
remember,  which  no  glorified  saint  in  heaven  can 
hold  with  you,  and  infinitely  less  with  all  believers 
over  the  world.  With  the  whole  mature  and  profound 
conception  and  conviction  of  this  his  elevated  exist- 
ence after  his  resurrection,  there  stood  necessarily 
and  closely  connected  the  whole  nature  of  his  future 
plans,  his  kingdom,  the  means  of  its  promotion,  the 
certainty  of  its  success,  the  spiritual  interests  of  each 
Christian  personally  in  time  and  eternity,  and  the 
great  question  of  a  glorious  resurrection  of  the  just : 


268  MEDITATIONS. 

a  subject,  of  whose  close  connection  with  and  depend- 
ence upon  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the  apostle 
speaks  in  1  Cor.  xv.  12  —  18.  Of  these  all-important, 
but  at  that  time  altogether  novel  subjects,  the  disciples 
were  to  conceive  as  well  as  we,  and  to  believe  them. 
But,  more  than  this,  they  were  to  teach,  defend, 
prove,  enforce  them  before  high  and  low,  to  fill  the 
world  with  them,  and  to  die  in  attestation  of  their 
reality  and  importance.  Their  conviction  was  to  be- 
come in  part  the  ground  of  the  conviction  of  genera- 
tions to  come.  The  church  was  to  be  reared  upon  it. 
What  depth,  then,  what  satisfactory  fullness,  what 
unquestionable  sobriety  and  reality  must  have  char- 
acterized their  conviction  of  all  this,  if  they  were  to 
perform  the  task,  and  we  to  rest  upon  it  with  an  ease 
and  assurance  sufficient  to  hold  out  in  the  trying  hour 
of  death  !  I  know  that  he  might  have  made  them  fit 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  in  all  respects,  in  the  twink- 
ling of  an  eye,  by  a  touch  of  creative  power  ;  and  so 
might  he  have  fitted  stones  and  might  fit  them  now  for 
the  purpose  ;  but  just  as  he  now  chooses  to  cause  di- 
vine truth  to  flow  from  the  lips  of  him  who  felt  it,  and 
not  from  an  unconscious  machinery  of  wheels  and 
springs  ;  just  as  he  now  chooses  that  face  should  speak 
to  face,  eye  beam  upon  eye,  that  the  living  voice  of 
man  should  roll  on  and  carry  thrilling  conviction,  not 
from  stone  to  heart,  but  from  heart  to  heart,  and  light 
and  life,  not  from  matter  to  mind,  but  from  mind  to 
mind,  and  the  undying  spark  of  divine  love  from 
bosom  to  bosom  ;  so  did  he  then  choose  that  the  sensi- 
tive experience,  the  intellectual  conviction,  and  the 
moral  sensibilities  of  man  should  be   the  ground  upon 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  269 

which  was  to  rest  the  great  truth  of  a  divine  Savior 
from  sin  and  ruin  ;  so  that  while  there  remaineth  yet 
on  earth  the  absolutely  necessary  principle  of  civil 
justice  and  common  intercourse  —  I  mean  human  ex- 
perience and  testimony  —  while  there  is  yet  a  spark  of 
sound  intellect  burning  under  heaven,  and  an  unbroken 
cord  of  moral  sensibilities,  there  shall  also  not  be 
wanting  on  earth  believers  in  Jesus,  till  he  shall  come 
to  judge  the  world  in  righteousness. 

But  if  the  disciples  were  to  attain  to  such  concep- 
tions, to  gather  such  a  conviction,  to  prepare  for  a 
work  so  great,  opportunities  were  to  be  afforded, 
assistance  was  to  be  granted,  stumbling-blocks  to  be 
removed  from  their  way,  the  senses  touched,  reason 
convinced,  and  the  sensibilities  of  their  hearts  tuned 
and  disposed.  All  this  was  done  to  perfection  during 
the  forty  days  from  Christ's  resurrection  to  his  ascen- 
sion, and  with  an  adaptation  of  means  and  a  wise 
economy  altogether  worthy  of  him  whose  work  the 
whole  is. 

The  parts  into  which  I  shall  divide  this  discourse, 
will  neither  be  exhausted  nor  relinquished  to-day. 
The  subsequent  appearances  of  Christ  will  throw  still 
farther  light  upon  them.  Yet,  that  we  may  have  some 
definite  aim  in  our  remarks  and  be  enabled  to  remem- 
ber them  the  better,  I  propose  the  following  arrange- 
ment : 

I.  What  impression  did  our  Lord  wish  to  leave  on 
the  minds  of  his  disciples,  upon  the  subject  of  his 
existence  ? 

II.  How  did  he  remove  the   moral   hindrances  of 


270  MEDITATIONS. 

their  rising  to  the  new  and  high  idea,  which  he  was  to 
communicate  to  them  ? 

III.  How  did  he  convince  their  senses  ?  and 

IV.  How  their  understanding  .'* 

I.  The  first  impression  to  be  made  on  the  minds  of 
the  disciples,  was,  that  the  resurrection  of  Christ  was 
an  entirely  different  one  from  that  of  the  widow's  son 
at  Nain,  and  from  that  of  Lazarus.  Such  a  resurrec- 
tion, such  a  state  of  existence,  altogether  a  common, 
material,  mortal  one,  would  of  course  have  led  them 
to  suppose  that  Christ  would  resume  his  office  as 
a  teacher,  a  rabbi  ;  would  have  confirmed  them  in  the 
belief,  and  justly,  that  he  intended,  after  all,  to  organ- 
ize an  earthly  kingdom,  whatever  spiritual  conceptions 
they  might  have  strove  to  entertain  respecting  it  ;  and 
would  have  necessarily  disqualified  them  for  the  charge 
they  were  about  to  receive.  New  conversations,  new 
discourses,  reproofs  and  alterations  in  the  temple,  new 
journeys  about  the  country,  new  external,  material 
cures,  new  merely  sensitive  miracles  and  wonders;  all 
this,  and  much  more,  would  have  been  identified  with 
his  return,  though  miraculous,  to  the  same  bodily  exist- 
ence as  before;  and  instead  of  raising  their  conceptions 
higher,  instead  of  exercising  their  faith,  and  awakening 
their  intellect  :  instead  of  spiritualizing  and  ennobling 
their  attachment  to  him,  and  their  ideas  of  his  charac- 
ter, and  their  motives,  and  desires  at  large,  and  in- 
stead of  preparing  them  for  the  proclamation  of  an  en- 
tirely spiritual  kingdom,  the  coarser  idea  of  an  external 
theocracy  would  have  been  justified  and  deepened,  and 
their  dependence  upon  the   bodily  presence,  and  the 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  271 

oral  instructions  of  their  Lord  confirmed  ;  while  the 
operations,  the  light,  the  diverse,  quickening,  en- 
larging, purifying  influences  of  the  divine  Spirit,  and 
all  "  the  power  of  the  world  to  come  "  would  have  re- 
mained unknown  to  them,  because  their  value  and  ne- 
cessity could  never  have  been  felt.  This  is  obvious. 
"  It  is  expedient  for  you,"  said  Christ,  a  short  time 
before  his  sufferings,  "  that  I  go  away  ;  for  if  I  go  not 
away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I 
depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  If  the  dispensation 
of  symbols  and  shadows,  of  external  laws  and  precepts, 
of  earthly  promises  and  threatenings,  of  temporal  re- 
wards and  punishments,  was  to  give  room  to  a  spiritual 
dispensation,  with  the  divine  law  written  on  men's 
hearts,  and  not  upon  tablets  of  stone  ;  if  promises  and 
threatenings,  rewards  and  punishments,  were  to  become 
all  spiritual,  eternal  ;  if  the  high-priest  and  king  of  the 
new  dispensation,  the  dispenser  of  its  blessings,  and  ex- 
ecutor of  its  comminations  was  to  become  accessible,  not 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Judea  merely,  but  to  every  sinner 
under  heaven,  not  to  one  generation  of  men,  but  to  ev- 
ery generation  to  the  end  of  time:  then  it  is  plain  that,  if 
indeed  he  begun  his  career  as  an  humble  rabbi,  an  in- 
spired prophet  on  earth,  he  must,  at  some  period,  wing 
his  way  to  a  state  of  existence,  to  a  degree  of  dig- 
nity and  power,  corresponding  to  his  offices  and  to  his 
relation  to  the  spiritual  and  everlasting  kingdom  in 
question.  His  dispensation  could  rise  only  with  him. 
If  the  saving  principle  of  this  dispensation  was  to  be 
faith,  and  not  works,  (and  works  can  never  save!)  if 
faith  in  him  ^^and  Scripture  passages  without  number 
almost  can  be  adduced  to  establish  this)  if  this  faith  in 


272  MEDITATIONS.  * 

him  was  first  to  be  grounded  upon  rational  evidence, 
and  ultimately  upon  experience,  not  sensitive,  but 
spiritual  :  then  his  material  presence  must  have  been 
withdrawn,  his  existence  must  have  become  one  of  om- 
nipresence, and  the  evidence  of  unsuspicious  testi- 
mony, so  far  as  the  nature  of  the  case  can  admit  of  it, 
must  be  provided.  His  omnipresence  is  a  matter  of 
spiritual  experience  with  every  believer  ;  the  unsuspi- 
cious testimony  was  the  chief  care  of  our  Lord  after 
his  resurrection,  as  we  shall  see.  During  the  remark- 
able day,  whose  last  scene  we  are  now  contemplating, 
a  beginning  only  could  be  made  of  this,  and  hence,  as 
I  have  already  intimated,  this  topic  cannot  be  finished 
to-day,  but  will  be  pursued  hereafter. 

Let  us  see  how  our  Lord  began  this  great  work. 
Air  ady  in  his  appearance  to  Mary,  we  meet  with  the 
remarkable  circumstance  that  she  did  not  recognize 
her  beloved  master,  though  she  saw  his  form,  and 
heard  his  voice.  That  she  equally  mistook  the  angels 
in  the  sepulchre  for  Joseph's  men,  is  not  so  strange, 
because  she  had,  of  course,  never  seen  them  before, 
and  their  appearance  seems  to  have  been  simply  that 
of  a  couple  of  young  men.  But  Christ  she  knew,  she 
sought  :  and  yet  she  did  not  know  him,  till  he  made 
himself  known.  Considering,  however,  her  state  of 
mind,  I  should  not  insist  upon  this  circumstance  alone, 
if  it  did  not  recur  time  and  again,  and  under  cir- 
cumstances which  render  it  still  more  surprising.  In 
the  afternoon,  two  disciples  and  intimate  friends  of 
Christ  go  to  Emmaus  ;  he  appears  to  them,  —  he  con- 
versed with  them  :  he  astonished  them  with  his  pro- 
found knowledge  of  divine   things  :  they   had   already 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  273 

heard  of  Christ's  resurrection,  they  were  in  no  pecu- 
liar excitement  of  mind,  they  conceive  a  particular 
attachment  to  him,  inviting  him  to  abide  with  them  ; 
in  short,  they  hear  him,  they  listen  to  him  with  atten- 
tion, they  see  him,  they  look  at  him  with  searching 
interest,  no  doubt,  and  all  this  probably  for  more  than 
an  hour  ;  and  yet  they  do  not  know  him,  nor  recog- 
nize at  all  either  his  features  or  his  voice,  until  he 
makes  himself  known.  Similar  instances  will  recur 
hereafter.  Different  were  the  cases  of  the  youth  of 
Nain  and  of  Lazarus  ;  everybody  knew  them  after 
their  resurrection,  we  should  conclude.  Again  :  He 
is  no  sooner  recognized  by  the  two  pilgrims,  when  he 
vanishes  out  of  sight,  or  literally,  "  He  becomes  invisi- 
ble." Some  would  make  us  believe  that  this  passage 
merely  meant  he  quickly  retired  from  them,  so  that 
they  saw  him  no  more.  But  this  is  not  only  forcing 
the  word  aqpai'To;^  invisible,  but  it  also  jars  against  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  history  of  Christ's  resurrection. 
A  little  before,  or  after,  the  scene  of  Emmaus,  Christ 
appeared  to  Peter  ;  and  this  apostle,  in  his  usuaJ 
ardor,  immediately  calls  the  eleven  together,  and  com- 
municates to  them  the  fact.  While  they  sit,  some  doubt- 
ing, some  wondering  and  rejoicing,  the  two  pilgrims 
arrive,  and  tell  their  tidings  of  joy.  Their  testimony, 
too,  receives  but  partial  credence  ;  i.  e.  some  doubted 
still,  and  while  they  are  yet  comparing  facts,  and  talking 
to  each  other,  then,  when  the  doors  were  shut  (John) 
where  the  disciples  were  assembled,  for  fear  of  the 
Jews,  "  cams  Jesus  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith 
unto  them,  '  Peace  be  unto  you  !  '  "  How  did  he 
come  .''  Some  say  he  knocked  at  the  door,  and  they 
24 


274  MEDITATIONS. 

opened  to  him  •,    others,  and  those  well-disposed  men, 
say,  he  opened  the  door  by  his  miraculous    power,   for 
(and  this  is  what  both  parties  urge,  and  it   is  all  they 
urge)  it  is  not  said,  he   came   through   the   locked   up 
doors,   but  simply  he  came  while  the  doors  were  shut. 
What  an    unworthy   play  with   serious   words  !     How 
can  a  man  be  said  to  come  in  while  the  doors  are  shut, 
when  these  doors  are  actually  opened  to  him,  be  it  by 
natural  or  supernatural  power  ?     Can  a  door  be  called 
shut  when  it  is  opened  ?     So   should  we   come   in,  the 
doors  being  shut,  if  there  be  any  doors  in  a  house,  for 
thev  are  shut,  and  often  locked  when  we    come.       But 
the  fact   is,  when  a  locked  door  is  unlocked,  then  we 
pass  through   the   door,  it    being    open,  and   not   shut. 
Why    the   apostle   did   not  say    he   came  through  the 
locked   doors,   is  obvious.     He   did   not    know   at    all 
which  way  he  came.      He  came,  and  this  is  all  the  evan- 
gelist knows  and  all  he  says   about   his   coming  ;    but 
he  knows,  also,  and  he  says  it,  too,  that   when    Christ 
came,  the  doors  were  shut,  and  not  open.     Moreover, 
the   disciples  "were  affrighted  and  terrified,  and  sup- 
posed that   they   had  seen   a   spirit."     How   was   this 
possible,  or  at  least,  natural,  if  there   was   not   some- 
thing in  the  manner  of  his  appearing,  which  led  them 
into  that  mistake  !     But  what  could   that   have   been  ? 
That  Christ  was  risen,  they   knew  and   believed  ;   he 
was  able,  long  before  his   resurrection,  to   open  doors 
that  were  locked,   and   they  were   abundantly   used  to 
gee   him  perform   such   works,    on    proper    occasions. 
But  his  coming  in  when  the  doors  were  shut,  this   was 
something  new,  surprising   to   them,   something  which 
led  them  to  think  that  what  they  saw  was,  at  all  events, 


TFIE    GREAT    EVENING.  275 

not  flesh  and  bones.  Again  :  Christ  appeared  to  tho 
women,  and  how  did  he  know  where  they  were,  and 
walked  ?  How  did  he  know  the  two  disciples  are 
taking  a  walk  to  Kmmaus,  and  are  going  to  talk  '*  of 
all  these  things  r  "  How  did  he  find  Peter  alone  ? 
How  did  he  know  the  apostles  are  now  assembled  in 
their  private  room  ?  Not  indeed  by  an  espionage 
most  unworthy  of  him  ;  and  who  could  have  been  his 
spy  ?  The  following  impressions  must,  therefoie,  have 
been  made  on  the  disciples'  minds,  though  tacitly  : 
His  existence  is  one  of  whose  laws  we  have  no  con- 
ception ;  where  he  chooses  to  be,  there  he  is  ;  what 
we  do,  and  think,  and  purpose,  }]e  knows  ;  and  the 
laws  of  matter  have  no  power  over  him.  And  what  was 
the  most  natural  consequence  of  this  impression,  took 
place,  —  they  supposed  he  had  no  body  at  all,  but  was 
pure  spirit.  But  this  was  not  the  conclusiori  he  wished 
them  to  draw.  He  had  promised  to  rise  from  the  dead, 
and  this  meant,  doubtless,  thai  his  body  should  rise  ? 
for  spirits  are  neither  buried,  nor  do  they  die,  nor  do 
they  rise  from  the  dead.  This  is  obvious.  Hence  it 
was  important  that  they  should  know  his  body  is  risen, 
though  the  mode  of  its  existence  be  inconceivable;  and 
he  gives  them  all  the  evidence  of  the  great  fact  which 
the  nature  of  the  case  admits  of  I'hey  see  him,  they 
hear  him,  they  touch  him  :  the  evidence  of  three 
senses  is  afforded.  He  eats  before  them,  they  can  re- 
sist no  longer,  they  believe,  yea,  they  know  and  are 
convinced  he  is  in  very  deed  risen  from  the  dead,  what- 
soever of  the  marvellous  and  inconceivable  may  be  con- 
mected  with  this  fact. 


276  MEDITATIONS. 

II.  Whenever  objects  visible  are  not  discerned, 
the  difficulty  is  not  in  the  objects,  but  in  the  eye. 
When  the  thrill  of  sweet  harmony  does  not  ravish,  or 
the  grating  jar  distress  us,  the  sound  was  just  what  it 
was  ;  but  our  ears  are  dull  of  hearing,  or  uncultivated. 
Mathematical  truth  is  just  as  true  as  ever  it  was, 
though  it  may  appear  nonsense  to  a  whole  country,  or 
world.  How  much  more,  then,  must  divine  truth  be 
the  same,  and  blameless,  though  she  be  unheard,  un- 
felt  forever  by  you  or  me.  The  cause  why  so  many 
misapprehensions  and  errors  prevail  in  this  world, 
is  that  there  are  infinite  degrees  of  capacity,  in- 
finitely divers  likiugs,  preferences,  prejudices,  etc. 
in  men.  The  things  that  are,  are,  of  course,  the  same 
to  all,  if  all  could  or  would  see  and  perceive  alike. 
The  various  causes  adduced  by  Bacon,  which  influ- 
ence and  misguide  our  mind  in  reference  to  intellec- 
tual  matters,  are  so  many  and  so  powerful,  that  the 
view  of  them  is  perfectly  appalling,  and  it  requires  a 
deep  sense  of  the  preciousness  of  truth,  and  a  strong 
desire  to  possess  it,  if  a  man  is  still  to  engage  in  the 
seemingly  hopeless  pursuit.  But  the  dire  dilemma  is 
before  him.  Think,  meditate,  or  be  a  brute, — fight 
or  die,  —  and  he  presses  on.  But  what  hindrances, 
do  you  think,  must  exist  in  reference  to  things  spirit- 
ual, religious,  and  higher  than  the  heavens,  especially 
to  a  fallen,  blind,  distracted  worm,  like  man.  But  the 
still  dire  dilemma  is  before  him.  Think,  meditate, 
seek  the  light  of  heaven,  or  perish,  fight  or  die  the 
second  death.  A  few  only  of  these  causes  of  error 
we  can  notice  here,  as  having  existed  in  the  disciples, 
and  we  shall  see  how  Christ  removed  them. 


THE    GREAT    EVENIIVG.  277 

They    had,  from    infancj,  imbibed   a  set   of  notions 
about  the  Messiah  and  his  kingdom,  through  which,  as 
through  colored  glasses,  they  looked  upon    every  pas- 
sage of  holy  writ,  and  upon    every  parable    and  senti- 
ment which  their  master  uttered  in  their  hearing.    Not 
that   he    did  not    succeed    in  improving  and  ennobling 
their  conceptions,    in   removing   some    of  the  grosser 
errors,  and  in  instilling  such  positive  truths   into  their 
minds,  as   they    were   able   and   willing    to   bear.     He 
certainly  did.     But  their  old  set  of  notions   needed  to 
be  plucked  up  by  the  roots,  and  this  was  hard,  and  re- 
quired time  and  means,  unless  they  were  to  be  handled 
like    stones,    which    God    never    intended     that     they 
should.       Christ    improved,    removed,    replaced   their 
notions   on   the   subject   of  his  person,  character,   and 
kingdom,  during  the  three  years  of  his  sojourning  with 
them,  so  far  as  they  were  willing,  and   almost   beyond 
what  they  were  willing,  as  those   instances   of  reproof 
to  Peter,  Philip,  and  several  times  to  all  of  them,  evi- 
dently show.     Time  forbids  to  cite  the  passages  which 
I  hope  are  familiar  to  you  all.     The  remainder  of  their 
system  to  which  they  clave  with  a  blind  temerity  which 
yielded    to    no    verbal  instructions — that   was  explo- 
ded when    their    master    expired    on    the    cross,    and 
when   his   lifeless   corpse  was   deposited    in   the   silent 
grave.     O,  now  it  was   gone,    the   golden   dream  !     It 
was  gone  !     The  whole  stupendous  framework  of  their 
longed-for  theocracy  was  ground  to  dust.     The   spark 
of  their   own    kindling    was   crushed,    and  who   would 
kindle    it  again  !     How   long    they   had   been   feeding 
upon  ashes,  and  building   castles   in   the   air  !     There 
they  stood,  at  their  wits's  end;  and  if  heaven  and  earth 
24* 


in 


MEDITATIONS. 


had  forsaken  them,  they  could  not  have  felt  more  des- 
olate, empty,  and  deserted.  A  hard  moral  case  !  but 
an  indispensable  one,  too.  While  a  vessel  is  full,  you 
can  put  nothing  into  it  ;  but  when  it  is  emptied  of  its 
contents,  then  it  may  become  the  receptacle  of  wine, 
or  precious  ointment.  So  they.  For  three  years, 
Christ  had  labored  with  them  ;  but  little  was  accom- 
plished. But  what  they  were  unwilling  to  relinquish, 
the  merciful,  omnipotent  hand  of  God  tore  away  from 
them,  resistlessly  and  forever.  Now,  at  last,  they  were 
as  little  children,  ready  to  be  filled  with  divine  knowl- 
edge. The  hard  cure  was  rendered  necessary  by  their 
gtubbornness  ;  but  it  was  a  cure  still,  and  God  was 
the  physician. 

There  is  not  a  man  or  woman  among  my  readers, 
who  has  not,  or  had  not,  a  preconceived  system  of 
error  on  the  subject  of  religion.  It  is  impossible  that 
it  should  be  otherwise.  The  idiot  alone  has  none,  or 
has  it  but  rarely.  Some  of  you  may  think  that  in  some 
way  or  other,  all  men  will  be  saved  ;  some,  that  all 
moral  men  (but  I  should  like  to  have  you  draw  the 
line,  if  you  can  !  )  shall  escape  ruin  ;  some  may  have 
taken  up  a  dead  orthodoxy  as  the  way  of  salvation  ; 
some  a  dead  philosophy  framed  by  yourselves,  or  made 
ready  to  your  hands  by  others.  Whatsoever  it  may 
be,  depend  upon  it,  if  you  have  not  the  truth,  i.  e,, 
Christ  crucified,  crucified  for  you,  and  living  in  you, 
if  you  have  not  the  truth,  then  you  have  "  a  lie  in  your 
right  hand  "  and  in  your  hearts,  for  you  are  sure  to 
have  some  notion  about  you,  be  it  what  it  may.  Time 
forbids  me  to  impugn  and  expose  all  these  errors.  I 
can  only  pray  that  the  omnipotent  hand   of  God  may 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  279 

tear  them  from  you  ;  that  a  blast  from  the  Almighty 
may  carry  away,  merciless,  your  universalism  or  your 
moralism,  or  your  dead  orthodoxy,  or  your  dead  phi- 
losophy, or  whatsoever  may  be  the  perishing  founda- 
tion of  your  delusive  hopes  and  the  treacherous  pil- 
low of  your  alarming  slumber.  O,  that  we  might  see 
the  blessed  time  when  we  could  all  come  here  poor, 
rid  of  every  old,  cherished  error,  ignorant,  empty, 
teachable  as  little  children  !  How  soon  would  Christ 
step  in  among  us,  though  our  doors  were  shut  tight 
and  our  houses  surrounded  by  a  thousand  spies  and 
foes,  —  and  would  say  to  us  all,  "  Peace  be  unto  you.'* 
O,  how  soon  !  But  while  you  are  full  of  your  errors, 
whatsoever  they  may  be,  I  ask,  and  you  answer  me 
now  honestly,  how  can  you  expect  to  receive  the  truth, 
or  to  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God  ?  It  is  im- 
possible, it  is  inconceivable,  it  is  hopeless,  while  the 
laws  of  your  minds  remain  as  they  are. 

2.  Want  of  thought,  retirement,  reflection,  and  med- 
itation, before  God,  was  another  difficulty  of  the  disci- 
ples. With  the  exception  of  Nathaniel  and  John,  I 
am  not  able  to  discover  in  either  of  them  any  traces  of 
deeper,  habitual  meditation,  during  the  three  years  of 
Christ^s  intercourse  with  them.  Christ,  you  remem- 
ber, led  them  into  the  wilderness  once,  and  probably 
as  often  as  they  would  follow,  but  generally  they  suf- 
fered him  to  retire  alone  and  kept  about  the  people, 
about  their  external  duties.  An  honest  and  single- 
hearted  performance  of  external  religious  duties,  gen- 
eral serious-mindedness,  openness  to  truth  to  some 
extent,  a  desire  for  better  times,  and  better  hearts, 
and    a   very   lovely  and  praise-worthy   attachment  to 


280  MEDITATIONS. 

their  dear  master,  is  all  that  I  can  discover  throughout 
the  four  gospels.  How  often  did  they  question  him 
privately  about  the  most  easy  parables  and  sentiments, 
and  what  they  meant  !  And  Christ  reproved  them  on 
these  occasions  several  times,  for  their  want  of  re- 
flection. 

Little  time  as  I  have  for  digressions  in  the  pres- 
ent discourse,  I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass 
by,  without  pointing  my  hearers  to  that  thing  dif- 
fused as  the  atmosphere,  which  brings  a  blot  both 
upon  the  heart  and  intellect  of  men,  and  works 
the  effectual  ruin  af  the  mass  of  sinners,  —  I  mean, 
thoughtlessness  on  divine  subjects.  How  many  a  great 
man  has  reflected  on  almost  every  imaginable  sub- 
ject, save  religion  !  Napoleon  dies  with  the  groan, 
"France  in  arms!"  and  Nelson,  rejoicing  in  the 
dreadful  victory  of  Trafalgar,  yields  up  his  responsible 
spirit  with  the  sigh,  "Bless  God,  I  have  done  my 
duty  !"  Others,  filled  to  the  brim  with  earthborn 
knowledge,  die  without  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  But 
what  is  "France  in  arms!  "  before  the  judge  of  all 
the  earth  ?  Or  the  laws  of  the  Olympian  games 
and  the  Constitution  of  Great  Britain,  are  they  the  law 
of  heaven  ?  They  are  not.  Look  now  at  the  me- 
chanic, the  merchant,  the  scholar,  the  politician,  the 
soldier,  the  sailor  !  Tell  me,  how  many  of  them  are 
in  the  habit  of  a  prayerful  contemplation  of  eternity,  or 
care  half  as  much  for  the  knowledge  of  God  as  for 
skill  in  their  trade.  They  rise  up,  they  go  to  eating, 
to  work,  to  reading,  to  meals  again,  to  rest,  to  diver- 
sions and  walks,  to  evening  parties,  and  to  sleep.  It 
is  one   rolling   chain   of  worldly  pursuits   and   indul- 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  SSl 

gences,  from  year  to  year,  till  death  comes  and  closes 
the  accounts  ;  their  thoughts  are  anywhere  but  in 
their  closets  ;  away  they  go,  like  the  fool's  eyes,  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  O,  what  a  low,  mean,  daring, 
alarming  wallowing  in  the  mire  of  this  world  !  Lift  up 
your  countenance,  immortal  man  !  There  is  a  God  in 
heaven,  and  you  are  living  for  eternity  !  Lift  it  up  ! 
lest  you  perish  in  the  deep,  polluting  mire.  Why  will 
you  perish  under  the  open  window  of  heaven  ^  But 
let  me  ask  you  here,  for  I  am  preaching  to  you,  and 
not  to  the  people  in  China,  and  answer  me  now  before 
God,  the  searcher  of  hearts,  where  is  your  hour  of 
contemplation,  and  when  do  you  shut  out  the  world 
from  your  solitary  closet,  to  soar  up  to  the  footsteps  of 
the  judgment-seat  and  to  the  threshhold  of  heaven,  or 
to  descend  to  the  gates  of  hell,  to  rouse  your  slumber- 
ing soul  to  a  sense  of  your  stupendous  responsibility  ? 
Where  is  it,  that  hour,  that  eventful  one,  out  of  the 
twenty-four  ? 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  charge  the  disciples  of  Christ 
with  that  kind  and  degree  of  inconsideration  which  I 
have  just  been  reproving.  No.  Still  there  was  some- 
thing like  it  in  them,  and  sufficient  of  it,  too,  to  throw 
a  thick  veil  over  the  kingdom  and  plan  of  Christ. 
Christ  removed  it  by  driving  them  to  their  closets,  and 
to  solitude.  Since  Thursday  evening,  they  were  scat- 
tered, hidden,  forsaken,  alone.  There  was  time  for 
reflection  and  thought  ;  and  many  a  thoughtful,  tearful 
look  they  may  have  sent  up  to  heaven.  There  is  a 
deeper  tone  of  thought  perceptible  among  them 
throughout,  from  the  two  pilgrims  to  John  and  Peter. 
They    are    stiller,    more  tender,    more    pensive,    and 


282  MEDITATIONS. 

everyway  more  fit  for  the  higher  ideal  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.      *'  Go  ye,  and  do  likewise  !  " 

3.  These,  and  many  other  circumstances,  rendered 
them  insensible  of  their  need  of  divine  light,  to  under- 
stand divine  subjects.  Thus,  to  the  present  day,  '*  the 
deep  things  of  God  "  necessarily  remain  involved,  to 
every  unconverted  man,  in  that  haze  which  makes 
them  foolishness,  till  the  light  of  heaven  beams  upon 
his  soul.  Their  case  and  ours,  in  the  same  frame  of 
mind,  are  alike.  But  now,  their  minds  being  prepared 
for  the  reception  of  a  higher  illumination,  Christ  re- 
moves the  darkness  from  their  minds  by  opening 
"their  understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the 
Scriptures,"  as  he  had  done  to  the  two  disciples  walk- 
ing to  Emmaus. 

III.  Upon  our  third  topic,  we  have  already  touched 
incidentally.  After  the  testimony  of  Peter,  and  of 
Cleophas  and  his  companion,  most  of  them  could  no 
more  doubt  the  fact  that  the  Lord  was  risen.  By  the 
mouth  of  two,  and  of  three  witnesses,  this  matter  was 
properly  established,  seeing  the  witnesses  were  in  their 
right  minds,  and  had  no  interest  in  telling  a  falsehood; 
i.  e  they  were  obviously  able  and  willing  to  tell  the 
truth.  More  than  this  no  bar  of  justice  can  demand, 
nor  does  demand  at  present.  But  (for  purposes  which 
will  become  clear  to  us  before  closing  this  meditation) 
Jesus  had  concluded  to  show  himself  to  them  all,  this 
very  evening.  The  manner  of  his  appearing,  you  know. 
This  was,  however,  calculated,  while  it  convinced 
them  still  farther  of  the  exalted  nature  of  his  existence, 
to  throw  them  into  doubts  as  to  tjie  rea}  resurrection  of 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  283 

his  body.  These  new  doubts  were  overcome  by  new 
and  accumulated  proofs  of  his  real  bodily  resurrection 
from  the  dead;  i.  e.,  of  his  resurrection  itself,  for  there 
is  no  resurrection  conceivable,  save  that  of  bodies. 
He  showed  unto  them  his  hands,  his  feet,  and  his  side, 
to  convince  them  of  two  facts  at  a  time  :  1 ,  that  he  had 
flesh  and  bones,  that  he  was  no  mere  spirit,  and  2, 
that  what  they  saw  and  handled,  was  his  own  body, 
the  same  one  which  had  been  crucified  three  days 
ago,  and  thrust  through  with  the  spear  of  a  Roman 
soldier. 

Joy  now  filled  their  hearts.  But  the  idea  to  have 
him  again  was  so  great,  so  unexpected  a  one,  that 
they  could,  on  that  very  account,  hardly  believe 
even  their  senses.  Calmly  he  asks  for  some  meat, 
sits  down  and  eats  before  them  all.  Now  joy  and  con- 
viction unite,  and  they  gather  around  him  to  enjoy  the 
blessed  privilege  of  his  presence. 

IV.  The  evidence  of  sense,  however,  loses  of  its 
power  in  proportion  to  the  perturbation  of  mind,  and 
the  excitement  of  feeling  in  those  who  are  to  bear 
witness,  i.  e.  in  proportion  to  the  witnesses  to  be  heard 
were  deprived  of  the  calm  use  of  their  understanding 
and  cool  judgment,  at  the  time  when  they  pretended  to 
have  been  witnesses  of  the  facts  to  be  attested.  The 
good  sense  of  the  apostles  and  the  other  disciples  led 
them  to  recognize,  themselves,  this  principle,  during 
the  scenes  of  the  day.  Angels  had  appeared  to  the 
women,  and  Christ  had  appeared  to  them,  and  both 
had  given  them  charges  and  messages  to  the  disciples, 
and  the  brethren  of  our  Lord  ;   but  still  they  doubted, 


284  MEDITATIONS.  ^ 

their  minds  remained  suspended.  This  they  carried 
rather  too  far,  and  some  seem  to  have  altogether  re- 
jected the  testimony  of  the  pious  sisters,  which  they 
ought  not  to  have  done.  But  they  erred  on  the  safe 
side  in  this  instance,  and  their  fault  was  kindly  re- 
proved and  forgiven.  Let  us  now  review  the  events  of 
this  day  in  reference  to  our  present  topic;  that  we  may 
get  a  full  impression  of  the  harmony  and  wisdom  of  its 
plan.  Everywhere  the  evidence  of  sense  mingled  with 
moral  instruction,  wakening  thought,  and  self-exami- 
nation, and  calling  into  exercise  every  faculty  of  mind 
and  heart,  and  all  this  mingled  in  divers  proportions 
according  to  the  various  exigences  of  the  respective 
cases. 

In  the  morning,  the  slumbering  hopes  of  the  whole 
band  of  disciples,  believers  and  inquirers,  were  waked 
by  a  moral  shock.  Women  were  at  the  sepulchre, 
saw  angels,  saw  the  Lord,  and  are  bringing  tidings 
from  both.  Peter  and  John  run  there,  but  see  nothing. 
All  this  had  its  obvious  and  wise  purpose.  The  wo- 
men receive  the  first  sensible  demonstration  of  the 
Lord's  resurrection  —  and  m  ho  would  not  be  glad  to 
grant  that  support  to  their  distressed  hearts  and  their 
comparatively  feeble  intellect.  Still,  where  angels  ap- 
pear, a  wise  economy  is  practised,  and  a  worthy  pur- 
pose is  perceptible.  They  have  an  important  charge 
to  deliver.  The  charge  of  the  angels  is  important,  yet 
it  keeps  within  bounds,  does  not  supercede  what  the 
Lord  himself  has  to  say,  and  the  words  are  few,  and 
few  as  they  are,  they  are  still  calculated  and  intended 
to  awaken  a  train  of  useful  and  sacred  reflections  in 
the  hearts  even   of  the  women.     The    appearance  of 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  285 

Christ  to  Mary  we  have  too  fully  handled  already,  to 
say  much  more.  Only  let  it  be  remembered  that  the 
flow  of  her  feelings  was  wisely  checked,  and  thoughts 
of  the  most  elevated  nature  were  touched  like  the 
chords  of  a  harp.  All  this  was  sufficient  for  the  females : 
for  they  were  never  intended  to  become  public  wit- 
nesses of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  their  meeting  him 
is  nowhere  adduced  as  a  proof  of  his  having  risen  from 
the  dead.  But  the  disciples,  on  the  contrary,  who, 
being  the  appointed  witnesses  of  this  great  fact,  were 
intended  to  be  profoundly  convinced,  are  in  the'mean- 
time  left  to  reflection  and  consultation,  and  their  minds, 
you  may  easily  imagine,  were  powerfully  exercised  all 
the  day  long.  How  could  they  help  comparing  Scrip- 
ture, and  recalling  our  Lord's  sayings  ?  how  should 
they  not  have  kneeled  down  together  and  prayed  for 
light  from  heaven  ?  But  all  remained  still  and  breath- 
less till  evening.  The  first  excitement  passes  away  ; 
their  feelings  settle  towards  evening  rather  into  the 
apprehension  that  all  may  be  the  effect  of  imagination. 
True,  neither  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  nor  anybody  else 
knew  where  the  body  had  been  carried,  and  that  this 
was  passing  strange  could  not  be  denied.  Two  men 
travel  to  Emmaus  ;  Christ  appears  to  them,  purposely 
concealing  himself  until  their  minds  are  enlightened, 
their  thoughts  awakened,  and  their  understanding 
stored  with  divine  knowledge  :  then  their  eyes  are 
•opened,  a.nd  he  vanishes  out  of  sight.  As  the  evening 
sets  in,  another  electric  shock  wakes  the  disciples, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  they  are  assembled  in  their  pri- 
vate room,  the  doors  shut.  The  Lord  hath  appeared 
unto  Peter  —  Peter,  the  sound,  affectionate  man!  The 
25 


286  MEDITATIONS. 

matter  is  discussed.     Peter  assures  them  of  the   fact, 
and  relates  the  circumstances.     Some  believe  and  re- 
joice, some  doubt.     It  is  already  getting  somewhat  late, 
when  somebody  knocks  at  the  door  hastily.      "  Who  is 
it  ?  who   is   there  .''  "     "We    are    here,    Cleophas   is 
here,"  they  whisper  without.      "  Why,  we  thought  you 
gone  to  Enimaus,"     "No  matter  ;   open  the  door,  we 
bring  good  and  glorious  news."     To    apprehend   their 
tidings  was  not  difficult.     But  those  who  believed  Peter, 
exclaim,  as  they  enter,  "The  Lord  hath  risen  indeed, 
and  hath  appeared  unto  Peter."     They  sit  down,  and, 
half  out  of  breath,  tell  their  story.     New  astonishment, 
new  discussion,  new  rejoicings,  new  doubts.    The  doors 
are  shut  again,  of  course.     All   at  once,  Christ  stands 
in  the  midst  of  them.      "  Peace  be  unto  you!"    Though 
much  surprised  by  the  extraordinary  manner  of  his  ap- 
pearing, they  are  now  sufficiently  prepared  for  such   a 
scene  to  remain  masters  of  themselves.     The  gentle 
rebuke   of  Christ,  of  which   Mark  speaks,    (xvi.    14) 
makes  them  ashamed  of  their   obstinate  doubts  ;   his 
plain  appearance,  his  accustomed  affectionate  address, 
his  calmness  removes  every  remainder  of  excitement, 
and  they  are  now  perfectly  able  to  judge  of  what  they 
see,  and  hear,  and  handle.     They  see  the  print  of  the 
nails,  the  scar  made  by  the  spear,  they  feel   flesh  and 
bones,    they  hear  the   accustomed   voice  ;   he  eats   of 
their  food,  and  when  all  perturbation  has  subsided,  he 
gathers  them  around  him  in  the  way   he  was   wont  to 
do  ;    and  while  he  expounds  unto  them  the  Scriptures, 
from   Moses  and  onward,  they  feel  themselves   filled 
with  heavenly  comfort  ;   new  views  burst   upon  them, 
new  feelings  flow  from  heart  to  heart.     All  is  ease  and 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  287 

peace,  calmness  and  undying  reality  about  them  ;  and 
a  conviction  resting  upon  external  and  internal  experi- 
ence is  settling  deeply  in  their  minds  ;  for  which  they 
may  well  have  been  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives. 
Exciting  reports  opened  the  day;  reflection  and  consul- 
tation succeeded  ;  accumulating  and  more  unquestion- 
able testimony  came  in  the  evening  ;  the  evidence  of 
sense  followed,  calm  instruction  and  a  retrospect  upon 
the  life  and  the  predictions  of  Christ,  and  upon  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  closed  the  day  ;  and  everything  was 
shining  in  the  substantial  light  of  a  better  world,  free 
from  the  refractions  of  the  fallen  reason  and  the  cor- 
rupt heart  of  the  natural  man.  If  ever  sober  and  un- 
questionable experience  substantiated  a  fact,  it  is  the 
fact  before  us.     But  of  all  this,  more  hereafter. 

Christ  prepares  to  take  his  leave  for  this  time.  One 
thing  remained  to  be  done.  The  moral  distance  be- 
tween him  and  them  seems  so  immense  now,  that 
they  doubt  whether  they  may  hope  to  sustain  to  their 
exalted  master  the  intimate  relation  of  apostles  any 
longer.  Yes,  they  may,  they  shall.  "Peace  be  unto 
you,"  says  Jesus  to  them  again,  before  parting,  "  as 
my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you."  Then 
breathing  upon  them,  he  saith  :  "Receive  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  unfailing  guide.  Whatsoever  ye  do, 
guided  by  him,  is  ratified  in  heaven.  Repentance  and 
remission  of  sin  must  be  preached  among  all  nations, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  and  shall  be  my 
witnesses  of  these  things." 

Thus  ended  the  great  day  which  brought  life  andim- 
mortality  to  light. 


283  MEDITATIONS, 

Our  subject  to-day  is  rich   in  practical   matter,   and 
numerous  profitable  remarks  might  now  close  this  dis- 
course.    But    our   time  is  expired,  and  the  application 
of  this  great  subject,  I  have  reserved  for   some   future 
opportunity.     But  as  1  have  been  obliged  to  say   some 
things,  seemingly  or  really,  to  the  discredit  of  the  apos- 
tles, let  me  now  do  them  justice  in  closing,  by  advert- 
ing to  the  fullness  and  beauty  with  which,  at  the  close 
of  this  day,  their  christian  characters  came  out  of  the 
trying  furnace  of  fire.     They  exhibit   an   evidence  of 
piety   as   perfectly   conclusive    as  it  could  have  been. 
We  leave  them  in  their  poor,  narrow  chamber,  a  little, 
feeble  flock,  but  full  of  joy   and  gladness.     What  has 
happened  to  them  ^  what  change  has   taken   place    in 
their  situation  }     Have   they  been  made   rich,  great, 
famous,  formidable  to  their  enemies  .'*     Nothing   of  all 
this.     Has  their  Lord   brought  them  the  promise,  that 
henceforth    they   shall   live  in   sweet   retirement,   and 
ease,  and  safety  ?  and  that  their  late  troubles  were  the 
last  ones  they  should  ever  see  ?  Nothing  like  it.    Now 
indeed,  their  labors  and  sufferings,   their   persecutions 
and  wrongs,  the  contempt  and  curse  of  the  world,  were 
to  commence.     Their  late  distress  was    "but  the   be- 
ginning of  sorrows."     What,  then,  are   they   so   glad 
about  ?     Christ  has  appeared  unto  them.     Here  is  the 
all-sufficient  source  of  their  joy,  in  spite  of  a  world  of 
enemies,  and  a  life  of  toil  and  sufferings.     When  they 
^wept,  they  wept  for  him  ;   and  when  they  rejoiced,  they 
rejoiced  in  him.     When  he  came,  he  brought  them  no 
earthly  good  ;  but  he  brought  them  his  "  peace,"  and 
this  was  enough. 


THE    GREAT    EVENING.  289 

O,  that  we,  too,  might  shed  no  tears  of  longing,  but 
those  for  him  ;  nor  rejoice,  save  when  he  draws  near  ! 
Thus  our  sorrows  and  our  joys  would  be  equally  proofs 
of  our  piety  and  sources  of  profit  and  comfort  to  our 
souls.  Wo  to  the  miserable  man  that  weeps  for  dust, 
and  to  the  still  more  wretched  epicurean  that  chews  and 
swallows  with  low  delight  the  rotten  husks  of  his  fel- 
lows, the  greedy  swine  !  O,  that  God,  with  whom  is 
the  residue  of  the  spirit,  might  visit  us,  that  whether 
we  sorrow  or  rejoice,  whether  we  live  or  die,  we  may 
have  Jesus  near,  saying,  "  Peace  be  unto  you !  '* 
Amen  ! 


25* 


MEDITATIONS. 


XIII. 


THOMAS'S  CONVERSION. 


JOHN   XX,    24— 2». 

But  Thomas,  ono  of  the  twelve,  called  Didymus,  waa  not  with  them  when 
Jesus  came.  The  other  disciples,  therefore,  said  unto  him,  Wo  have  seen  the 
Lord.  But  he  said  unto  them,  Except  I  shall  see  in  his  hands  the  print  of  tha 
nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  bia 
side,  I  will  not  believe.  And  aAer  eight  days,  again  his  disciples  were  witbio, 
and  Thomas  with  them.  Then  came  Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the 
midst,  and  said.  Peace  be  unto  you.  Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither  thr 
linger,  and  behold  my  hands  ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my 
side  :  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing.  And  Thomas  answered  and  said  unto 
him.  My  Lord  and  my  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou  bast 
seen  me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed. 


Now  there  was  but  one  profound  conviction,  pre- 
vailing among  the  disciples  of  Christ,  that  he  was  alive 
again,  soul  and  body  ;  that  the  plan  of  his  kingdom 
was  by  no  means  given  up  ;  that  the  mode  of  his  exist- 
ence was  a  high,  incomprehensible   one,  fully  answer- 


292  MEDITATIONS. 

ing  to  the  spirituality  and  the  universality  of  his  king- 
dom ;  and  that  all  the  events  which  had  perplexed 
them  so  much  since  his  death  and  burial,  were  but 
so  many  links  in  the  chain  of  a  divine  plan,  —  a  plan 
predicted  through  the  course  of  more  than  four 
thousand  years  —  and  leading,  with  unfailing  certainty, 
to  the  salvation  of  a  perishing  world  and  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things.  This  conviction,  as  we  have  seen 
in  our  last  meditation,  was  reared  upon  the  deep  foun- 
dation of  sensitive,  intellectual,  and  moral  evidence, 
on  the  testimony  of  Scripture  and  on  the  enlightening 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  the  testimony  borne 
upon  the  strength  of  this  conviction  must  needs  possess 
all  that  the  most  scrupulous  judge  could  demand  in 
point  of  demonstration,  and  much  more. 

Thomas  alone  was  excepted  from  the  happy  number 
of  those  who  rejoiced  in  a  risen  Saviour.  "Clouds 
and  darkness  "  remained  still  brooding  over  his  mind, 
and  while  the  rest  enjoyed  the  unwavering  conviction 
of  delightful  and  interesting  present  realities,  and  the 
sure  expectation  of  things  to  come,  which  were  alto- 
gether too  vast  and  too  precious  fully  to  be  realized, 
his  mind  was  tossed  through  the  space  of  a  whole 
week  more  with  the  tempest  of  a  thousand  obstinate 
and  distressing  doubts.  This  was  the  deserved  natu- 
ral consequence  of  his  own  faulty  conduct,  but  over- 
ruled by  an  allwise  Providence,  for  purposes  of  the 
highest  interest  and  importance,  as,  I  trust,  the  sequel 
of  this  meditation  will  show. 

There  ^re  many  moral  elements  contained  in  the 
general  subject  oi  our  text,  upon  each  of  which  we 


Thomas's  conversion.  293 

might  dwell  with  profit,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  the  rest. 
But  if  ^ou  remember  the  plan  which  I  laid  down,  in 
reference  to  the  history  of  the  resurrection,  you  will 
easily  perceive  that  I  must  dismiss  all  abstract  matter, 
and  direct  your  whole  attention  to  the  various  features 
of  the  history  itself.  I  am  somewhat  embarrassed  how 
to  divide  my  subject,  —  if  a  division  be  required  —  so 
as  to  pursue  my  main  purpose  with  consistency  and 
advantage.  Christ  must  again  be  the  centre  of  our 
meditation  ;  this  is  plain.  And,  still,  the  apostle, 
whose  name  stands  prominent  in  our  text,  must  needs 
engage  our  close  attention,  if  we  are  to  appreciate  the 
conduct  of  our  Lord  ;  and  the  other  apostles,  also, 
evidently  claim  their  share  of  consideration,  without 
which  the  whole  can  and  will  yield  us  no  mature  fruit, 
no  clear  perception,  no  deep  impression. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  embody  the  whole  of  what  is  es- 
sential to  our  purpose  under  the  following  two  heads, 
namely  : 

I.     The  mind  and  conduct  of  Thomas  ;   and 

n.     The  purpose  and  conduct  of  our  Lord. 

I.  Thomas  was  one  of  that  class  of  men,  whose 
minds  are  made  up  slowly,  though  firmly  ;  who  are 
more  liable  to  fall  into  scepticism  than  into  supersti- 
tion ;  who  are  exposed  to  the  delusions  of  self-confi- 
dence, but  who  are  sober  and  free  from  extremes,  and 
persevering  with  peculiar  equanimity  where  their  con- 
viction is  properly  matured.  I  know  that  diametrically 
opposite  views  have  been,  and  are  taken  of  his  char- 
acter ;  whether  with  propriety,  my  hearers  shall  judge 


M 


MEDITATIONS. 


when  I  shall  have  expressed  my  own  conviction  on  the 
subject.  Unlike  Peter,  whose  natural  tendency  to  ex- 
tremes is  acknowledged  on  all  hands,  he  joined  the 
small  band  of  disciples  in  a  manner,  and  with  an  exte- 
rior which  deprived  him  of  every  kind  and  degree  of 
prominence  or  distinction.  For  the  space  of  near 
three  years,  nothing  but  his  bare  name  is  thought  wor- 
thy of  mention.  Yet,  that  he  was  a  proper  subject  for 
admission  to  the  number  of  apostles,  Christ  himself  is 
our  warrant  ;  and  that  his  religious  conviction  was  ri- 
pening, and  his  christian  and  apostolic  character  devel- 
oping itself  during  that  whole  period,  is  clear  even  from 
what  little  we  are  told  of  him  in  the  gospels,  and  is 
confirmed  by  his  apostolic  career,  transmitted  to  us 
through  the  medium  of  history. 

In  company  with  the  other  apostles,  Thomas  has 
often  been  charged  with  expecting  a  temporal  reign  of 
the  Messiah  ;  i.  e.,  a  common  earthly  reign,  only  more 
powerful,  splendid,  and  luxurious,  more  successful  in 
battle,  more  destructive  to  its  enemies,  than  the  reigns 
of  other  monarchs.  This  charge,  which  many  good 
men  retail  from  the  pen  of  learned  infidelity,  has  no 
foundation  in  holy  writ  ;  it  is  on  this  very  point  that 
the  apostles  must  have  differed,  either  positively  or 
negatively,  from  the  epicurean  sadducees,  the  egotistic 
pharisees,  and  the  thoughtless  multitude  ;  and  it  is  on 
this  very  principle  —  if  any  principle  was  taken  into 
the  account  —  that  Christ  must  have  selected  them  in 
preference  to  a  thousand  other  Jews  more  learned, 
more  skilled  in  thought  and  reflection,  more  eloquent, 
more  influential,  and  in  every  respect  more  fit  for  the 


Thomas's  conversion.  295 

execution  of  his  great  plan.  God  despises  no  natural 
talents,  no  acquired  abilities;  but  at  the  heart  he  looks 
first,  and  nothing  will  make  up  for  the  settled  per- 
verseness  of  that. 

Thomas's  expectation  of  the  Messiah's  reign  was  a 
kind  of  heaven  on  earth  ;  a  notion  which  you  may  ea- 
sily infer  by  a  literal  construction  of  some  familiar  and 
beautiful  passages  in  the  prophets,  the  spirituality  of 
which  neither  Thomas  nor  the  other  apostles  were  pre- 
pared to  appreciate.  The  Messiah  will  come,  supreme 
in  wisdom,  holiness,  love,  and  power  ;  the  wayward 
heart  of  Israel  will  be  changed,  their  sins  purged  ; 
soon  the  heathen  nations  will  submit,  and  idolatry 
will  be  no  more  ;  in  their  tender  and  grateful  regard 
for  the  suffering  people  of  God,  the  heathen  will  forth- 
with liberate  and  honor  them  and  return  them  to  the 
land  of  their  fathers,  where  they  will  dwell  in  perfect 
prosperity,  harmony,  and  holy  peace,  with  their  king, 
(on  whose  nature  and  character,  human  or  divine,  their 
notions  were  ever  divided,  floating  and  indistinct)  with 
their  king  enthroned  at  Jerusalem,  and  wrapt  in  a  sar 
cred  and  mysterious  cloud.  This  idea  is  very  much 
like  the  sentiments  and  expectations  of  some  good  peo- 
ple of  the  present  day,  particularly  in  England.  By 
the  same  mistake  they  come  to  the  same  result,  and 
their  tracts  and  sermons,  and  other  works  have  in  this 
relation  a  high  degree  of  interest  to  the  church  histori- 
an and  the  theologian.  Only  this  important  differ- 
ence subsists  between  the  two  parties,  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  apostles  such  views  were  not  only  excusa- 
ble, but  almost  unavoidable,  —  which  is  a  great  deal 
more   than  I   should   undertake  to  plead  for  those  who 


296  MEDITATIONS. 

hold  similar  views  at  the  present  day.  There  was  too 
little  yet  fulfilled,  to  tell  us  what  degree  of  spirituality 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  would  assume,  and  how  far  we 
should  carry  the  solution  of  earthly  figures  of  speech 
into  heavenly  realities,  when  reading  and  explaining 
the  lively  oracles  of  God. 

But  to  prepare  you  to  appreciate  fully  the  mind  of 
Thomas,  I  must  remind  you  of  another,  and  indeed, 
the  chief  mistake,  which  he  shared  with  all  the  other 
followers  of  Christ  —  a  mistake  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded  on  former  occasions.  I  refer  to  the  one  under 
which  they  labored  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  to  come,  viz.  Gethsemane,  Cal- 
vary, the  cross,  the  silent  grave,  the  short  triumph  of 
the  wicked,  the  path  of  faith,  self-denial,  the  mortifica- 
tion of  every  earthborn  desire.  About  the  close  of  the 
third  year,  Thomas  seems  to  have  entertained  this  con- 
viction :  Yes,  he  is  the  Messiah ;  if  he  is  not  the  one,  no 
one  will  ever  come.  This  throws  light  upon  a  passage 
not  easily  understood  otherwise.  About  that  time, 
Lazarus  became  dangerously  ill.  His  sisters  send  to 
Christ  to  request  his  speedy  visit  and  help.  Christ 
delays  in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  that  trial  of 
faith,  and  for  that  exhibition  of  his  sovereign  power 
which  distinguished  the  dwelling  and  the  sepulchre  of 
his  pious  friend  at  Bethany,  and  of  which  Spinoza  him- 
self confessed,  if  he  could  believe  it,  it  would  overturn 
the  whole  fabric  of  his  truly  admirable  system  of  spec- 
ulation. At  last,  Christ  prepares  to  go  to  Bethany, 
This  undertaking  was  in  the  highest  degree  perilous. 
"Master,  the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  thee  ;  and 
goest   thou   thither   again  .''  "     So    his    disciples.     To 


297 

which  our  Lord  replies  in  words,  not  of  a  double  sense, 
for  to  that  our  critics  object,  but  in  words  of  a  thou- 
sand-fold sense  ;  in  words,  not  as  they  would  have 
them,  like  to  a  superficies  in  mathematics  which  has 
length  and  breadth  but  no  depth,  but  profound  as  the 
great  deep.  Jesus  answered  :  "  Are  there  not  twelve 
hours  in  a  day  ?  If  any  man  walk  in  the  day,  he 
stumbleth  not,  because  he  seeth  the  light  of  this  world. 
But  if  a  man  walk  in  the  night,  he  stumbleth,  because 
there  is  no  light  in  him."  These  things  he  said,  and 
after  that  he  saith  unto  them  :  *'  Our  friend  Lazarus 
sleepeth  ;  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him  out  of 
sleep."  Then  said  the  disciples  :  "Lord,  if  he  sleep, 
he  shall  do  well."  '*  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them 
plainly,  Lazarus  is  dead.  And  I  am  glad  for  your 
sakes  that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  intent  that  ye  may 
believe  :  nevertheless,  let  us  go  unto  him."  Do  you 
understand  all  this  .•'     But  we  return  to  Thomas. 

He  was  satisfied  on  the  one  hand,  this  is  the  Mes- 
siah ;  and  on  the  other,  if  he  goes  up  to  Judea,  he  is 
a  dead  man  ;  and  it  was  the  utterance  of  his  deep  feel- 
ings when  he  turned  to  his  fellow  disciples,  and  said, 
"Let  us  also  go,  and  die  ivitli  him;^^  i.  e.  if  he  goes 
up,  he  is  undone;  but  if  he  is  no  more,  the  hope  of 
Israel  is  gone,  every  tie  of  higher  interest  which  binds 
us  to  this  world  is  cut,  and  we  may  as  well  die  with 
him.  Thus  this  passage  becomes  clear,  and  serves  to 
cast  a  deeply  interesting  light  upon  the  religious  state 
of  Thomas's  mind  at  that  time.  Christ,  however,  sur- 
vived, and  the  hopes  of  our  apostle  were,  of  course, 
heightened  and  confirmed,  and  on  the  solemn  entrance 

of  Christ  into  Jerusalem,  the  hosannah  of  Thomas  was, 
26 


298  MEDITATIONS. 

if  not  the  loudest,  at  least  as  deeply  felt  as  any  other. 
And  now,  put  yourselves  into  his  frame  of  mind,  —  and 
then  go  through  the  scenes  of  Gethseinane  and  Calva- 
ry, and  be  told  of  the  burial  of  Christ,  —  and  you  will 
be  able  in  some  degree  to  realize  the  utter  and  dread- 
ful disappointment  which  this  man  experienced.     Away 
he  fled  from  all  society:  everything,  even  pious  sym- 
pathy, conversation,  and  social  prayer,  had  lost  their 
charms,  and  a  gloomy  solitude  seemed  the  most    eligi- 
ble, and,  to  his  feelings,  the  most  consonant  place  in 
the  world.     Ministering  spirits,  and  Christ  himself  ap- 
pears to  the  woman  at  the  sepulchre,  but  this  has  no 
influence  with  him.     Obstinately  he  withdraws  from  the 
rest  of  the  disciples,  and  returns  not  till  late,  till  all  the 
glories  of  the  resurrection  day  were  over.     Then   he 
returns   home.     He    sees    all    countenances    beaming 
with  joy.     A  painful  contrast  to  the  state  of  his  own 
mind.     The  Lord   is   risen,  and   has   appeared  to   the 
sisters,  unto  Peter,  to   Cleophas  and   his  companion, 
and  to  us  all  in  this  very  room  this  evening!     So  they. 
Indeed,    he    replies,  smiling    sadly  at    their  credulity, 
have  you  seen  him?     Yes,  and  we  have  seen  the  print 
of  the  nails  in  his  hands  and  his  feet,  and  the  wound 
in   his   side.     It  was  him  we  saw.     Ah,  you  have   seen 
him,  and  merely  seen,  and  you  may  have  seen   a  phan- 
tom.    You   ought  to  have  touched   him,  and   examined 
the  matter  well.     How  could  we  dare  do  that?  but  we 
all  saw  him,  and  clearly.     It  was  him!     Whereupon, 
fearless  of  everything,  save  a  new  delusion,  Thomas 
makes  the   daring  reply:   "  Except  1  too   shall  see   in 
his   hands  the  prints  of  the  nails;   and  not  that  only, 
but   put  my  very  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and 
thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe." 


Thomas's    conversion.  299 

Poor  Thomas!  If  Christ  was  morally  and  physically 
capable  of  deceiving  one  sense,  why  could  he  not  as 
well  deceive  all  five  senses.  That  the  veracity  of 
Christ  was  to  betaken  into  the  account  of  the  evidence, 
did  not  occur  to  Thomas,  nor  did  he  feel  the  impropri- 
ety of  such  a  shocking  course  of  mistrust  as  he 
had  proposed.  Thus  the  whole  week  passed,  and 
Thomas  was  like  the  troubled  sea  which  cannot  rest; 
doubts  and  daring  rejection  of  crowding  evidence,  and 
an  uneasy  mind  and  conscience  were  the  self-made 
rack  upon  which  he  agonized.  How  important,  my 
friends,  that  we  should  all  sit  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  and 
relinquishing  every  preconceived  opinion,  learn  of  him 
as  little  children.  There  we  ought  to  sit,  not  once, 
but  always.  The  blind-born  man  in  the  Gospel  could 
believe,  and  the  Canaanitish  woman,  and  Zaccheus, 
and  the  Centurion,  and  the  thief  on  the  cross,  and  a 
thousand  others,  and  Thomas,  the  ajjostle,  totters  on 
the  brink  of  scepticism  and  ruin.  Many  a  poor,  sim- 
ple old  woman,  many  a  child  can  believe,  and  feels  the 
influence  of  heaven,  and  Spinoza  dies  without  repent- 
ance, the  sensible  Jacobi  expires  in  distressing  doubts, 
Kant  in  gloom  and  darkness,  and  Voltaire  cursing  and 
in  a  rage.  O,  man  of  yesterday,  proud  fool  that  you 
are!  tell  me  now,  what  is  there  which  you  really  do 
know}  Put  now  your  finger  upon  the  thing,  and  tell 
me,  if  you  can.  This  I  do  know:  then  I  will  also  con- 
fess to  you  that  you  are  prepared  to  walk  by  sight,  and 
not  by  faith;  and  that  God  ought  to  bring  and  to  plead 
arguments  and  evidence  throughout,  to  obtain  your  as- 
sent and  credence. 

Infinite  compassion  saved  Thomas  from  ruin.     Christ 


300  MEDITATIONS. 

knew  all.  When,  hy  the  sufferings  of  a  distressful 
week,  Thomas's  mind  was  humbled  down,  his  heart 
softened,  and  his  fretfulness  and  his  presumption  re- 
moved, the  first  day  of  the  week  again  in  the  evening, 
the  door  being  shut,  and  the  apostles  and  Thomas  all 
being  assembled,  Christ  appears  in  the  midst  of  them. 
His  first  word  again  is,  "  Peace  be  unto  you."  Then 
looking  around  in  the  assembly,  his  eye  lights  upon 
Thomas,  who  is  ready  to  sink  into  the  ground  for 
shame.  He  addresses  Thomas,  not  in  the  dread  ac- 
cents of  old,  uttering  condemnation,  Adam,  where  art 
thou?  —  but  with  the  thrilling  intonation  of  injured 
love;  and  the  sentiment  was  more  overwhelming  to 
Thomas's  irritated,  but  sensible  and  tender  heart,  than 
all  the  stores  of  vengeance  and  destruction  would  have 
been.  '*  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my 
hands,  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my 
side,  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing."  Who  can 
sufficiently  realize  the  sternness  of  the  reproof,  which 
the  first  part  of  this  address  contains,  and  the  tender- 
ness and  affection  of  the  latter  clause.  It  was  enough 
to  melt  adamant.  It  melted  Thomas  in  an  instant. 
Did  he  rise  up  and  touch  Christ,  and  examine  his 
hands  and  side  like  a  surgeon,  who  is  to  make  an  offi- 
cial report?  Shocking,  preposterous  idea!  Had  he 
done  so,  methinks  he  would  have  sunk  into  the  pit 
alive,  like  Korah,  Dathan,  and  Abiram.  No!  He  was  a 
Christian,  and  he  could  and  did  feel  all  the  overcoming 
beauty  of  our  Lord's  conduct.  Conviction  fastened  up- 
on his  mind  with  the  resistless  power  of  eternal  reality; 
shame  and  confusion  efface  at  his  past  conduct  humbled 


Thomas's  conversion.  301 

him  into  the  dust,  and  his  overflowing  heart,  his  broken 
voice  could  just  summon  up  strength  enough  for  the 
short  but  comprehensive  confession  of  his  faith,  ex- 
pressed in  our  text.  *'  And  he  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  (i.  e.  to  Christ)  my  Lord,  and  my  God!"  If  the 
humble,  plain  exterior  of  his  Lord  had  left  any  doubts 
in  his  mind,  whether  the  passages  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  the  doctrine  of  some  Rabinnic  schools,  relative  to 
the  divinity  of  the  Messiah,  were  true  or  not,  those 
doubts  were  now  removed  at  once  and  forever; 
and  when,  at  the  ascension  of  Christ,  the  apostles 
bowed  down  and  worshipped  him,  Thomas  was  pre- 
pared to  join  with  all  his  heart. 

n.  Those  of  my  hearers  who  attended  our  last 
meditation,  and  remember  the  drift  of  my  remarks  then 
made,  need  but  a  word  in  order  to  recollect  what  was 
the  main  purpose  of  Christ  in  all  his  appearances  to 
his  disciples  after  his  resurrection.  It  was  this,  viz  : 
to  prepare  them  for  their  great  work  by  giving  them  a 
sensitive,  rational  and  moral  conviction,  not  only  of 
the  real  resurrection  of  his  body  from  the  dead,  but 
also  of  the  exalted  nature  of  his  existence  and  its  per- 
fect adaption  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  kingdom. 
We  have  seen  in  several  successive  discourses  how 
our  Lord  treated  Mary  Magdalene  and  the  other  wo- 
men, the  two  disciples  walking  to  Emmaus  and  the 
eleven  assembled  together,  and  how  admirably  he 
adapted  his  conduct  to  the  different  states  of  their  re- 
spective minds,  always  aiming,  with  unfailing  certainty 
and  with  triumphant  success,  at  the  great  purpose  which 
runs  through  the  whole  of  his  deep-cast  plan. 
26* 


302  MEDITATIONS.  * 

Thomas   is  another    and    a  bright   instance   of  this 
kind.     What   his  state    of   mind   was,  we   have   seen. 
To   appear  unto  him  immediately  on   the   resurrection 
day,  would  clearly  have   done  painful  violence  to   his 
feelings.     It  would  either  have  goaded  him  on  to   an 
absolutely   unpardonable   degree   of  resistance,    or  it 
would    have  wrested  from  him  an  assent  without  in  the 
least    convincing   his  mind.     Why,?     Because  he  was 
in  no  state   o  fmind  to  receive  conviction.     Moreover,  he 
had   abundantly  forfeited  the  privilege   of  seeing   our 
Lord  so  soon,  and  a  protracted  season  of  sore  distress 
of  mind   and  heart,  was   equally  deserved   and  whole- 
some  in   his  case.     What  a  revolution  took   place  in 
that  man's  mind  during  the  whole  course  of  the  week, 
I  do  not  presume  to  determine.     What  a  multitude   of 
causes  conspired  to  make  him  wretched,  and  to  pluck 
the  weapons   of  his  resistance  from  his    guilty   hands! 
After  all,  the  body  of  Christ  was  nowhere  to  be  found; 
the  false  report  of  thehigh-priests,  that  it  was  stolen  by 
the  disciples,  was  to  him  only  a  proof  that  they,  with  all 
their  soldiery  and  seals  knew  not  what  to  make  of  the 
event,  and  attempted  to  extricate  themselves  by  lying; 
many  a   passage   of  Scripture,  doubtless,  troubled  his 
mind;   his  seasons  of  devotion  were  seasons  of  agony 
and  darkness;   in  the  social  circle  and  in  private   in- 
tercourse with  the  brethren,  the  whole  mass  of  exist- 
ing evidence,  all  the   power  of  conclusive   argument, 
and   of  holy  eloquence  were   continually  rolled   upon 
his  mind;  the  soft,  melting  beam  of  Christian  affection 
was    continually   striving    to    dissolve    the    ice    which 
chilled   his  heart;   and  the  voice  of  prayer  and  inter- 
cession was   continually  poured  forth   in  his   hearing, 


THOMASES    CONVERSION.  SO^ 

ihat  he  might  be  led  to  believe  and  be  saved*  And  oh! 
when  he  looked  at  the  happy  countenances  which  sur- 
rounded him;  when  he  listened  to  the  sweet  converse 
of  them  all,  and  noticed  their  delightful  assurance,  -^— 
oh!  what  torture  to  his  mind!  Yes,  neither  Peter's 
blazing  zeal  and  eloquence,  nor  John's  tender  and  win- 
ning persuasion,  nor  James's  stern  sobriety,  nor  Mary's 
tears,  nor  the  combined  efforts  of  the  whole  church 
then  existing  on  earth,  could  break  him  down  or  turn 
him  from  the  error  of  his  ways.  Such  is  the  perverse- 
ness  of  the  human  heart!  No,  they  could  not  turn 
him  from  his  scepticism;  but  they  could  prepare  the 
way,  gather  the  stones  from  his  path,  and  clear  away 
the  hindrances,  till  he  came,  against  whose  sovereign 
Voice  no  sinner  has  ever  stood  up,  nor  ever  will  stand. 
This  they  did;  and  whien  they  had  done  what  they  could 
do,  then  he  came  and  did  what  they  could  not.  One 
glance  of  his  eye,  one  word  from  his  lips,  and  the  way- 
v/ard  heart  was  turned  and  humbled,  and  the  immortal 
Soul  saved;  and  this  whole  story  is  nothing  but  a  mirror, 
reflecting,  at  the  same  time,  the  glory  of  Christ  and 
the  duty  of  the  church  and  the  perverseness  and  peril 
of  the  sinner. 

How  kind  and  how  wise  the  conduct  of  Christ  was, 
in  reference  to  Thomas,  is  now,  1  hope,  clear  to  lis 
all.  But  let  us  see  its  bearings  upon  the  mind  of 
the  other  disciples,  and  the  whole  band  of  believ- 
vers.  During  this  whole  week  they  could  not  depart 
from  Jerusalem,  for  it  was  the  week  of  the  Pass- 
over; this  week  was  chiefly  devoted  to  religious 
exercises  in  the  temple,  and  at  home.  That  the 
disciples  met  once  or  more  a  day,  privately,  we  must 


304  MEDITATIOxVS. 

necessarily  suppose.  But  it  would  have  been  neither 
advisable,  nor  safe  for  the  disciples,  if  Christ  had  ap- 
peared often  while  they  were  at  Jerusalem,  and  before 
the  general  meeting  in  Galilee.  Moreover,  as  I  have 
already  once  observed,  it  was  in  the  plan  of  Christ  to 
give  them  time  for  reflection,  for  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  the  exercise  of  thought,  the  duty  of  devotion, 
and  the  development  of  faith,  etc.;  and  what  season 
was  more  admirably  calculated  for  such  purposes  than 
this  week  of  religious  interest,  and  of  rest  from  secu- 
lar cares  and  employments?  Thomas's  case  added  to 
the  propriety  of  our  Lord's  withdrawing  for  a  season; 
but  while  his  case  contributed  to  deprive  them  of  the 
privilege  of  seeing  their  Master  oftener,  it  richly  com- 
pensated them  by  its  beneficial  bearings  upon  the 
farther  development  of  their  views  and  feelings  this 
week.  A  week  ago  this  evening,  a  new  world  had 
been  disclosed  to  them.  They  had  learned  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus.  New  religious  experience,  and  new 
Scripture  views  had  rushed  into  their  minds;  but  as 
yet,  they  were  not  to  go  abroad  to  make  known  the 
great  mystery  of  which  their  hearts  were  now  so  full. 
Our  Lord,  therefore,  chose  to  give  them  a  work  to  do 
in  their  own  family,  and  an  important  one  too.  A 
doubting,  despairing  brother  was  in  the  midst  of  them; 
an  unbelieving  apostle!  This  was  indeed  not  calcu- 
lated to  sweeten  their  meetings;  but  it  could  not  fail 
to  give  them  a  deep  and  solemn  interest.  How  the 
presence  of  this  sceptical,  suffering  brother  must  have 
quickened  their  recollection  of  the  instructions  of 
Christ,  which  they  had  recently  received,  and  en- 
livened all  their  knowledge   of  divine  things!     How 


Thomas's  conversion.  305 

must  it  have  exercised,  and  put  to  the  utmost  stretch 
of  effort,  their  reasoning  powers,  when  he  boldly,  and 
in  sweeping  terms,  questioned  the  reality  of  their 
united  and  repeated  experience!  How  must  the 
bowels  of  their  compassion  have  yearned  over  the 
misery  and  danger  of  one,  whom  they  could  not  but  re- 
gard with  the  tenderest  emotions,  who  had  been  their 
faithful  companion  in  joy  and  wo,  and  who  had  once 
and  again  professed  his  readiness  to  die  with  Christ, 
and  that  sincerely,  and  from  his  heart!  How  must 
their  prayers  for  him  have  been  excited  and  quickened, 
their  faith  exercised,  and  every  faculty  of  their  minds 
and  hearts  taxed,  to  enlighten  and  to  save  him!  And 
when  all  their  united  efforts  proved  vain,  and  when  at 
last  the  happy  evening  hour  came,  and  Christ  ap- 
peared, and  melted  him  down,  and  turned  and  saved 
him  with  one  glance,  one  word;  —  what  indelible  im- 
pressions must  they  have  received,  of  the  vanity  of  all 
human  strength,  and  of  the  transcending,  and  irresist- 
ible power  of  the  King  of  kings!  And  when  they  re- 
membered, too,  who  made  them  to  differ,  what  hum- 
ble dependence  upon  him  who  ean  give  and  withhold, 
with  a  sovereign  right,  whatsoever  he  will;  what  an 
humble  dependence  upon  him  must  have  mingled  with 
their  new  assurance,  and  their  never-before-tasted 
joys!  The  experienced  Christian  will  discern  the 
serious  advantages  and  privileges  of  the  little  flock  as 
enhanced  by  the  conduct  of  our  Lord  in  this  case;  and 
he  will  recognize  that  eye  which  seeth  the  end  from 
the  beginning,  and  that  unfaltering  hand  which  holds 
the  reigns  of  winds  and  waves,  and  all  the  changes 
of  this  fluctuating  world. 


306  MEDITATIONS. 

But  we  must  hasten  to  the  closing  part.  "  My  Lord 
and  my  God!"  —  this  was  the  substance  of  the  confes- 
sion of  Thomas's  faith;  to  call  it  a  mere  exclamation 
occasioned  by  surprise,  and  not  an  address  to  Christ, 
is  bidding  defiance  to  the  plainest  laws  of  language. 
To  which  Christ  replies,  "Thomas,  because  thou  hast 
seen,  thou  hast  believed:  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed."  You  observe  here 
again,  how  our  Lord  remains  the  same  wherever  he 
speaks  and  acts.  Everywhere  he  addresses  the  whole 
mariy  and  with  the  evidence  of  sense,  where  that  is 
possible,  immediately  combines  the  exercise  of  the 
understanding  and  of  the  sensibilities  of  the  heart. 
Thomas  was  no  sooner  convinced  by  the  sight  of  his 
eyes,  when  a  moral  and  religious  lesson  is  addressed 
to  him,  to  occupy  and  to  exercise  the  mind  and  heart. 
But  it  is  addressed  to  us  also,  and  it  is  too  important, 
and  too  beautiful,  not  to  claim  our  undivided  atten- 
tion at  least  for  some  few  minutes. 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed."  That  we  should  admit  things  indiscrimi- 
nately, and  without  evidence,  could  not  be  the  desire 
of  Him  who  labored  so  much  to  give  all  the  evidence 
imaginable  to  his  friends,  both  of  his  divine  mission 
and  of  his  victory  over  death  and  the  grave.  To  appre- 
hend the  true  meaning  and  the  whole  moral  beauty  of 
the  sentiment  in  question,  let  us  look  for  a  moment 
upon  one  of  the  tenderest  and  noblest  ties  which  bind 
moral  and  rational  beings  together  —  here  below  imper- 
fectly, but  perfectly  in  heaven:  I  mean  confidence  in 
the  character  and  the  feelings  of  our  neighbor.  From 
the  bar  of  civil  justice  this  principle  is  indeed  exclu- 


307 

ded  by  necessity,   and  nothing  short   of  evidence  and 
argument  can  be  admitted.      From  the  market-place, 
and    from  the   haunts  of  wickedness,    selfishness  and 
vice  drive  it  effectually,  and  to  exercise  it  there  would 
be   folly.      But  in  the   better  relations  of  life  every- 
body feels  a  share  of  it  to  be  due   to   him  from  his 
neighbor,  and  to  his  neighbor  from  him;    and  every- 
body is  conscious  that  without  it,  human  society  would 
be  degraded;   there   would   be  no  intercourse  but  for 
purposes  of  strife   or  traffic,  and  life   would  be   a  bur- 
den.    What  do  you  think  would  be  the  condition  of  a 
state  when  ruler   and  ruled,  citizen  and  citizen  had 
lost   all   confidence   in   each   other,    and  where  every 
public  transaction,  political  and  social,  was  soured  by 
universal   mistrust   and  suspicion;    and  where,  conse- 
quently, every  assertion,  of  greater  or  smaller  conse- 
quence, was  to  be  accompanied  by  evidence  and  argu- 
ment, or  by  an  oath,  in  order  to   be   at  all   credited. 
Would  it  not  be   a  miserable  state   of  things  .''     Carry 
it  farther,  and  suppose  that   the  same  unhappy  feeling 
had  crept  into  families,  and  among  friends,  and  should 
call  forth  from   every  house   and  hearth   the  voice  of 
alarm,  as  often  as  the  nearest  relation  even  approaches 
to  pay  his  pretended   friendly  evening  visit  to  its  in- 
mates ?       Then  proceed  farther  still,    and   divide   the 
members   of  each  family,   father   and   child,   husband 
and  wife,  brother  and  sister,   and  let  none  of  them  put 
any  confidence  in  the  character,  the  conscience,  the 
sincerity  and  benevolence  of  any  of  the  rest,  and  let 
evidence  and  arguments  and  oaths  be  required  daily 
and  hourly,  and  say  whether  hell  itself  could  be  a  less 
eligible,  a  more   frightful,   abode?     It  could  not,  you 


308  MEDITATIONS. 

say.  Indeed  not.  But  should  you  not  think  that  this 
was  really  the  case  in  a  family  or  state,  if  you  should 
observe  that  no  one  of  its  members  would  believe  the 
rest  without  continually  seeing,  hearing  and  handling 
for  himself  ?  Time  forbids  me  to  treat  upon  this  sub- 
ject at  large;  but  thus  much  is  clear  unto  you  all,  I 
suppose  that  conjidence  is  one  of  the  elements  of 
social  intercourse,  and  that  it  is  an  ennobling  one, 
which  we  should  be  anxious  to  retain,  exercise,  and 
deserve  as  much  as  possible.  How  much  of  evidence 
and  argument  should  be  required,  and  how  much  con- 
fidence reposed  in  every  given  instance,  — who  would 
pretend  to  decide  in  the  abstract?  Mathematics  do 
not  apply  to  moral  subjects.  Moral  feeling  must  de- 
cide here,  and  the  rectitude  of  him  who  seeks  trust, 
and  the  generous  fairness  of  him  who  grants  it,  equally 
affect  the  exercise  of  the  moral  principle  in  question. 
A  thief,  a  liar,  believes  nobody,  and  is  believed  by 
nobody;  a  man  who  never  told  a  lie,  finds  credence 
everywhere,  and  trusts  even  to  imprudence  some- 
times. But  beautiful  beyond  expression  is  the  lovely 
picture  of  a  Jonathan  and  a  David,  whose  mutual, 
noble,  generous  and  pious  friendship  could  reconcile 
the  most  scrupulous  prudence  with  the  exercise  of  un- 
bounded confidence  and  trust. 

Let  us  apply  these  brief  remarks  to  the  case  in 
hand.  Had  not  Jesus  foretold  his  resurrection?  and 
had  not  unsuspicious  and  pious  witnesses  seen  him?  and 
why  mistrust  the  one,  and  charge  the  others  with  folly 
and  superstition,  or  with  deceit?  Thomas  had  at  the 
same  time  trampled,  though  unconsciously,  perhaps, 
upon  the   rights  of  humanity  and  of  pious   fellowship, 


THOMAS*S    CONVERSION.  '  309 

and  upon  the  claims  of  a  faithful  master,  and  the  duty 
of  a  disciple,  by  not  believing  till  he  himself  saw.  It 
was  his  duty  and  privilege  to  believe  without  sight, 
under  circumstances  like  his,  which  rendered  confi- 
dence so  much  an  exercise  of  sobriety  and  duty,  and 
clothed  it  with  such  peculiar  moral  charms. 

'*  Blessed  are  they,  &c."     Oh,  indeed,   there  is  an 
inexpressible  sweetness  in  that   surrender    of  love    to 
him,   that   entire    confidence   in  the    friend  of  sinners, 
which  leads  us  not   only  to   require   no   evidence,   no 
feelings,   no  peculiar  extraordinary  manifestations   on 
his  part,  but  which  would  prefer  even  to   believe  with- 
out  sight,  to  believe    upon  a  single,  poor,  short  word 
from  his  blessed   lips.     No;    I  do  not  want  to  see  the 
heavens  open  like   Stephen,    unless  he  choose  to  open 
them.     No  ;   I  do  not  ask   to  see    the  New  Jerusalem, 
like    John,    unless  he    think   this  best.       Gethsemane 
seen  by  faith  is  to  me  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  Calva- 
ry sparkles  and  shines  to  me,  the  sinner,  with  brighter 
rubies  than   the   city  not    made  with   hands:     it  shines 
with  the    rubies  of  his   dying  love.      I    have  not  seen 
them  with  these  eyes,  but  he  who  died  for  me  sent  me 
word  concerning  them,  and   1   gratefully  believe.     He 
who  died  for  me,  —  can  he  deceive  me  .?  can  he  seek 
my  harm,  my  ruin?     If  he  can,  then  let  me  be  ruined! 
then    1    no    more    wish    to    live  ;     then    there    is    for 
me   no   heaven    in    the    wide    universe,    and   my    last 
tear   of  hopeless   sorrow  is   my  last   expiring  comfort. 
But,  no,  no  ;   it  is  impossible  that  he  should  deceive; 
no,  the  very  thought  is   painful   and   criminal.      Sweet 
is   the    exercise    of    unbounded    confidence    in  him  ; 
and   his   pale,   dying    countenance,   the   print  of   the 
27 


$10  MEDITATIONS. 

nails  in  his  hands,  and  the  wound  in  his  side,  shall  be 
to  my  humble  faith  the  all-sufficient  and  everlasting 
proofs  of  his  sincere,  tender  and  unfailing  love  to  me, 
the  sinner. 

All  this  and  much  more  was  contained  in  the  moral 
sentiment  which  our  Lord  addressed  to  the  humble 
and  believing  Thomas,  and  what  a  field  of  contempla- 
tion, and  what  a  new  world  for  the  exercise  of  the 
noblest  affections  towards  the  noblest  object,  was 
opened  to  him  at  once,  1  need  not,  and  I  cannot 
tell  you.  But  it  is  addressed  to  us  too;  and  oh  that 
no  unbeliever  was  found  in  this  room!  To  be  an  unbe- 
liever now  is  dreadful.  The  sum  of  evidence  which 
lies  before  us  at  this  late  period,  is  as  nearly  equal 
to  sight  as  it  well  can  be.  And  if  he  is  blessed  who 
hath  not  seen,  and  yet  hath  believed,  then  surely  he  must 
be  cursed  who  hath  seen,  and  yet  hath  not  believed. 

Permit  me  one  or  two  remarks  more  and  I  have 
done. 

In  my  last  sermon  it  gave  me  peculiar  pleasure, 
after  having  been  obliged  to  say  mucli  to  the  discredit 
of  the  ten  apostles,  to  show  at  the  close  with  how 
bright  an  evidence  of  sincere  piety  they  came  off, 
through  divine  grace,  from  a  contest  as  unexpected, 
as  fierce  and  trying  as  theirs  had  been.  The  same 
privilege  I  am  now  permitted  to  enjoy  with  reference 
to  Thomas. 

"  My  Lord,  and  my  God!"  was  the  confession  of  his 
faith  in  reference  to  his  Lord  and  Messiah,  and  Christ 
oave  him  the  testimony^  that  he  believed.  Whether 
the  necessity  of  a  divine  Saviour,  and  its  inseparable 
doctrine  of  the  divinity  of  Christ  was  quite  plain  to  the 


Thomas's  conversion.  311 

other  disciples  at  that  time,  may,  perhaps,  be  doubted; 
to  Thomas  it  was  plain,  if  his  words  indicate  the  state 
of  his  mind.  That  view  represented  in  several 
weighty  passages  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  existing, 
as  it  then  did,  in  some  Jewish  schools,  was  made  plain 
to  him  by  the  exigency  of  his  individual  case;  and  the 
frame  of  his  own  mind,  and  a  new,  broad  and  ever- 
lasting foundation  was  laid  by  the  Holy  Spirit  upon 
which  he  was  to  rest  his  hope  of  heaven.  Now  he 
needed  a  divine  Saviour;  and,  therefore,  he  sought 
and  found  him.  Henceforth  he  was  a  faithful  ad- 
herent to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  a  persevering 
and  successful  preacher  of  it.  After  the  dispersion  of 
the  apostles  he  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  Medes, 
Persians,  Hyrcanians,  Bactrians,  Ethiopians,  and  in 
India,  and  probably  in  that  country  sacrificed  his  life 
for  the  truth  of  what  he  preached.  "Let  us,  also,  go 
and  die  with  him,"  he  had  said,  and  so  he  did;  and 
we  shall  dou';tless  find  him  among  those  who  live  and 
reign  with  Christ  forever  and  ever. 

The  history  of  the  conversion  of  an  apostle  of  Christ 
and  a  missionary  of  the  cross,  has  a  peculiarly  deep 
and  solemn  interest  to  us,  beloved  brethren,  whom 
God  called,  and,  counting  us  faithful,  hath  put  us  into 
the  ministry  that  we  should  serve  him  in  far  distant 
lands,  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son.  Oh,  what  a  humbling 
vet  cheerino;  likeness  there  is  between  Thomas  and 
us!  There  was  a  time  with  us,  too,  when  our  hearts 
were  filled  with  sorrow  and  sinful  unbelief  and  doubts, 
and  when  all  nature  seemed  to  put  on  mourning,  to 
bemoan  our  undone,  forlorn  condition.  We  had  no 
friend   on   earth  who   could   help   us;     and,   alas!  we 


512  MEDITATIONS. 

thought  we  had  none  in  heaven.  Many  around  us 
followed  still  the  world,  but  we  could,  and  would  no 
more;  many  rejoiced  in  the  love  of  Christ,  but  we 
durst  not  yet;  we  were  the  outcasts  of  heaven  and 
earth.  Till  the  moment  came,  the  moment  never  to 
be  forgotten  in  heaven,  when  Christ  manifested  him- 
self to  us,  as  he  does  not  unto  the  world,  in  all  the 
beauty  of  his  sufferings,  in  all  the  overcoming  love- 
liness of  the  "  man  of  sorrows."  Perhaps  he  found 
us  in  the  closet,  perhaps  in  the  mingled  assembly  of 
sinners  and  saints,  and  no  one  knew  our  perishing 
case,  or  cared  for  us.  But  he  knew  it;  he  cared  for 
us.  "  Reach  hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands; 
and  reach  hither  thy  hand  and  thrust  it  into  my  side, 
and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing."  And,  "My 
Lord,  and  my  God!"  was  all  that  our  souls  could  re- 
ply. Forthwith  the  holy  resolution  was  m^de  in  his 
strength,  that,  so  far  as  we  are  able,  his  name  and  his 
praise,  the  story  of  his  dying  love  and  his  saving 
power,  should  be  known  to  the  end  of  the  earth. 
And  now,  after  much  of  delay  and  toil  and  peril,  we 
are  in  the  field,  and  our  labors  are  commenced.  We 
have  followed  Thomas  in  his  unbelief,  let  us  follow 
him  in  his  zeal,  his  perseverance  and  his  faithfulness 
even  unto  death.  But  our  work  is  a  work  of  faith, 
and  our  hope  rests  not  upon  the  goodness  of  men,  nor 
upon  our  wisdom,  skill  or  power,  but  upon  his  prom- 
ise and  his  faithfulness,  which  never  fail.  There  let 
it  rest  till  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  The  world  may 
laugh  at  us  as  fools;  those  whom  we  seek  to  save 
may  curse  us  as  heretics;  every  external  encouraging 
appearance  may  perish  and  pass  away  like  smoke; 


Thomas's  conversion.  313 

yea,  the  church  of  Christ  may  lose  all  her  faith  and 
engagedness  iu  the  great  work,  and  draw  back  her 
hand;  the  whole  tide  of  external  obstacles  and  diffi- 
culties may  set  against  us;  but  the  promises  and 
presence  of  Christ  may  not  fail  us  while  we  cleave  to 
him.  Mountains  may  be  removed,  and  the  mother 
may  forget  her  sucking  child:  but  he  may  not  forget 
us,  and  liis  word  will  stand  forever;  and  there  let  our 
confidence  rest  till  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.  And 
oh,  it  will  be  sweet  and  blessed  to  us  to  trust  him  thus. 
*' Blessed  are  they  which  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed!"  what  a  depth  of  meaning  lies  in  these  few 
words!  what  spiritual  enjoyment  in  the  exercise  ot 
this  elevated,  heavenly  sentiment!  To  lean  upon  Jesus 
*' even  as  a  weaned  child,"  and  to  glorify  and  honor 
him  by  that  trust  whose  exercise  is  denied  to  the 
happy  spirits  in  heaven  —  for  there,  all  is  sight,  and 
faith  is  no  more  ;  how  blessed  indeed!  With  what  a 
holy  intensity  of  desire  should  we  seek  and  crave  this 
precious  pearl! 

I  have  done.  I  leave  the  remainder  to  your  own 
meditation  in  the  closet,  where,  I  pray  the  Lord  who 
appeared  unto  Thomas,  may  appear  unto  us  to-day 
and  speak  peace  to  our  souls. 

Finally,  let  me  plead  with  you,  who  stand  as  yet 
afar  off  doubting  and  halting  between  Christ  and  the 
world  ;  let  me  plead  with  you  in  Christ's  stead,  to  be 
reconciled  to  God  through  him.  Yet  the  sands  run, 
the  sun  is  not  yet  gone  down,  the  day  of  mercy  lasts 
still,  and  the  offers  of  salvation  are  urged  upon  you. 
Flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  perishing  sinner,  ere 
the  King  of  kings  draw  nigh  in  his  glory,  to  show  you^ 
23* 


314  MEDITATIONS. 

not  the  signs  of  his  dying  love,  but  the  frown  of  holy 
indignation,  and  deal  out  just  damnation  and  eternal 
ruin  upon  your  guilty  heads.  Blessed  are  all  they 
who  put  their  trust  in  thee,  and  in  a  dying  hour 
can  yield  up  their  happy  spirits  to  thy  hands  with 
the  sincere  exclamation,  "My  Lord,  and  my  God!" 
Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


XIV. 


THE  EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS. 


JOHN    XXr,  1-23. 

After  these  things  Jef«u.s  sliowed  himself  again  to  the  disciples  at  the  sea  of  Ti- 
berias ;  and  «n  this  wise  shewi-d  he  himself.  Tliere  were  together  Simon  Peter, 
Bnd  I'homas  called  Didymtis  and  Nathanael  of  Cana  in  Galilee,  and  the  soiis  of 
Zebedeo,  and  two  other  of  his  disciples.  Simon  Peter  saith  unto  them,  I  go  a 
fishing.  'I'hey  say  unto  him,  We  also  go  with  thee.  They  went  forth,  and  en- 
tered into  a  ship  immediately  ;  and  that  night  they  caught  nothing.  But  when 
the  morning  was  now  come,  Jesus  stood  on  the  shore  ;  but  thi-  disciples  knew  not 
that  it  was  Jesus.  Then  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Children,  have  ye  any  meat,' 
They  answered  him.  No.  And  ho  said  unto  them,  Cast  the  net  on  the  right  sido 
of  the  ship,  and  ye  shall  find.  Thf^y  cast  therefore,  and  now  they  were  tu)t  ablo 
to  draw  it  for  the  multitude  of  fishes.  Therefore  that  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved 
saith  unto  Peter,  It  is  the  Lord.  Now  wlien  Simon  Peter  heard  that  it  was  the 
Lord,  he  girt  his  fisher's  coat  unto  him  (for  he  was  naked,)  and  did  cast  lumself 
into  the  sea.  And  the  other  disciples  came  in  a  little  ship,  (for  they  were  not  far 
from  the  land,  but  as  it  were  two  hundred  cubits,)  dragging  the  net  with  nsheg. 
As  soon  then  as  they  were  come  to  land,  they  saw  a  firo  of  coals  there,  and  fiih 
laid  thereon,  and  bread.  Jesus  saiih  unto  th'-m.  Bring  of  the  fish  which  ye 
have  now  caught.  Simon  Peter  went  up,  and  drew  the  net  to  land  full  of  great 
fishes,  an  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  ;  and  for  all  there  were  so  many,  yet  was 
not  the  net  broken.  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Come  and  dine.  And  none  of  the 
disciples  durst  ask  him,  Who  art  thou  .-*  knowing  that  it  was  the  Lord.  JesHS 
thun  Cometh,  and  taketh  bread  and  givcth  them,  and  fish  likewise  Thit  is  now 
the  third   time  that  Jesus  shewed  himself  to  his  disciples  after  that  he  was   risaa 


316  MEDITATIONS. 

from  thti  (lead.  Po  when  they  hail  dineil,  Jesii-s  siiilh  to  Simon  Pttor,  Simon,  son 
of  Jonas,  l.ivesi  tli.iu  me  more  ll-.an  tliese?  He  <aiili  unto  liiiii.  Yea,  LoM  ;  thou 
know, 'St  that  I  h)ve  lliie.  lie  suilli  unto  him,  Keeii  my  lambs.  He  suilh  to 
him  ag;:iir.  the  secoml  tune,  Pitnon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovosi  lliou  int  ■  He  saith  unto 
him,  \  va,  Lord;  thou  knuvvest  thai  I  l-ive  llit-e.  HesaiMi  unto  him,  Feeil  my 
sliecp.  He  saiih  unU)  him  the  third  timi,  Simon,  son  of  Jouas,  lovest  thou  me? 
Peter  was  {rrinved,  liucan-i;  he  sji.i  unlo  him  tliR  tliirJ  lime,  Uivust  thou  mc  ! 
And  he  said  UMio  him.  Lord,  ilii.u  knowcst  ail  things  ;  thou  inowest  that  I  lave 
thee.  Jtsu:!  s.iiih  unto  him,  Fr(Mi  my  sheep.  Verily,  veriiy,  I  say  un!o  thee, 
VVhenihou  wast  young  thou  ;,'iided.st  ll.y>elf,and  vvalkedst  wnitlter  thou  wouldest  : 
but  when  thou  shall  h.-  ol.l  thou  shall  sircK-.h  hnth  thy  hand's,  and  unulhir  shall 
gird  thee,  and  carry  ihee  wither  ihou  wouldtst  not.  'J'hifs  spake  he,  signifying 
by  what  lit-AtU  li>i  should  glorify  Goil.  .\nd  wiien  he  had  sixikeii  thix,  he  .saith 
unto  him.  Follow  me.  Then  Peter,  turning  :i!)out,  seelh  the  discijile  whom  Jesua 
Joved  folh>wi!ig;  wiiich  al-o  haneil  on  hi.*  hnasl  at  supper,  and  saiil,  Lord,  which 
is  he  that  helrayctli  ther?  I\trr  seeing  him,  Hai:li  to  Jesus,  Lord,  and  what 
shall  this  man  do:  Ji  sns  >ai!li  ui.lo  l-im,  II  I  will  tliat  he  tarry  (ill  F  come,  what 
ii  that  to  thee!  Follow  tliou  me.  'J'iien  went  tins  say  ing  abroad  amongst  the 
brethren,  that  thai  liiscijile  slioul  1  not  die  ,  yet  Jisu-<  sail  not  unto  liim,  Hn  shall 
not  die;  but  if  1  will  that  he  tarry  (ill  1  come,  what  is  that  to  thee? 

The  scene  of  our  meditation  now  changes.  All  the 
apostles  and  a  number  of  other  believers  have  seen 
Chri.st  after  his  resurrection,  time  and  again,  at  Jeru- 
salem. They  are  convinced  he  lives.  The  Paschal 
week  is  spent;  the  time  for  the  meeting  of  the  five 
hundred  brethren  draws  near;  they  all  proceed  to 
Galilee,  according  to  the  previous  arrangement  made 
by  Christ,  and  enforced  by  the  angels  at  the  sepulchre, 
and  by  our  Lord  himself,  after  rising  from  the  dead. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  disciples  and  believers  lived 
in  Galilee,  others  went  there  to  be  present  at  the  meet- 
ing. We  follow  them  to-day.  Not,  indeed,  to  be  pres- 
ent at  that  general  assembly  where  *'  more  than  five 
hundred  brethren"  were  gathered  together,  (for  of 
that  we  shall  speak  in  our  ne.xt  mecitatioUj)  but  in  or- 
der to  witness  and  contemplate  another  occurrence, — 
one,  at  least,  as  interesting  as  any  of  those  we  have 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE   SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  317 

already  gone  through,  one  very  peculiar  in  many  re- 
spects, and,  as  we  think,  comparatively  very  little  un- 
derstood. It  is  the  appearance  of  our  Lord,  as  re- 
corded in  the  chapter  a  part  of  which  I  have  just  read 
in  your  hearing. 

My  hearers  perceive  that  my  text  is  again  rather 
long,  and  yet  it  is  so  inseparably  connected,  that  a  di- 
vision was  impracticable.  Economy  of  time  and  of 
words  on  my  part,  and  an  undivided  attention  on  yours 
will,  therefore,  be  the  indispensable  conditions  of  a 
profitable,  social  meditation  upon  the  subject  of  our 
chapter.  Nor  must  you  fail  to  bear  in  mind  what  I 
have  said  on  several  former  occasions,  while  I  was 
discoursing  upon  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord.  The 
main  plan  he  had  in  all  his  appearances  at  Jerusalem, 
and  which  I  have  already  unfolded  to  you  and  recapit- 
ulated, he  is  still  pursuing;  and  if  you  will  but  follow 
me  attentively  through  this  discourse,  and  one  or  two 
more  to  be  delivered,  you  will  see  the  important  work 
completed,  you  will  have  the  key  to  the  conduct  of  the 
apostles  ever  afterwards,  and  you  will  possess  a  sure 
foundation  upon  which  you  may  rest  with  ease  and 
comfort  your  faith  in  Christ  even  in  your  dying  hour. 
We  proceed  with  our  subject. 

We  shall  endeavor  to  appreciate,  first, — the  pecu- 
liar character  of  the  history  itself;  secondly,  —  its 
bearing  upon  the  case  of  the  disciples,  in  particular; 
and  thirdly,  —  dwell  for  a  few  minutes  upon  vvhat  is 
practically  important  in  it,  to  the  believer  in  every 
age, 


518  MEDITATIONS. 

I.  The  week  of  the  Jewish  passover  heing  ended, 
all  that  the  apostles  knew  was,  that  the  Lord  would 
appear  to  tiiem  in  Galilee.  They  knew  that  they 
were  to  expect  him  there,  and  they  knew  no  more. 
This  is  the  case  with  every  Christian  in  all  his  duties 
relative  to  the  kingdojn  of  heaven:  a  command  and  a 
promise  of  blessing  and  ultimate  success  is  all  the 
Lord  gives.  Particulars  are  denied,  in  older  to  ex- 
ercise, not  our  acumen,  but  our  faith  and  obedience; 
and  he  who  undertakes  to  unveil  what  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  concealed,  is  "a  busybody"  in  God's  matters, 
and  an  idle  servant  who  will  be  struck  with  blindness, 
and  run  the  risk  of  perdition  unless  he  repent.  The 
apostles  and  their  companions  had  learnt  the  lesson  of 
simple  trust  and  obedience  so  well  by  this  time^  that 
when  th^  Bolettirtitlfes  of  thfe  grent  Week  at  Jerusalem 
Wet*e  over,  wheti  the  mind  of  Thomas  was  turned  and 
pacified,  and  every  concern  requiring  immediate  at- 
tention at  Jerusalem  was  settled,  they  set  out  for  their 
respective  places  of  residence,  and  calmly  return  to 
their  several  employments.  That  Christ  would  appear 
to  them  again,  and  do  everything  necessary  to  accom- 
plish the  great  end  of  his  coming  into  the  world,  they 
were  deeply  convinced;  so  deeply,  indeed,  that  it  gave 
them  no  concern  whether  lie  would  come  in  a  week, 
or  a  month,  or  a  year.  This  is  exactly  the  frame  of 
a  true  Christian's  mind  in  every  age.  The  Lord  will 
come:  of  this  grand  fact  he  is  deeply  convinced;  so 
deeply  that  he  cares  not  when  or  how.  The  fanatic 
may  see  visions,  and  guess  and  calculate  from  Greek 
and  Hebrew  letters  till  he  die,  and  the  unconcerned 
sinner  may  slumber  till   he  perish,  and  the  confirmed 


.^jlLY  MEETING  AT  THE   SEA  OF  TIBKRIAS.  319 

worldling  mock  on  till  the  archangel's  trump  stop 
his  daring  derision; — the  Christian  knows  unwaver- 
ingly that  the  Lord  cometh,  and  he  will  mind  his  duty, 
keep  his  lamp  burning,  and  his  loins  girded  about  with 
truth,  and  his  accounts  ready. 

Our  pious  travellers  are  safely  arrived  at  their 
respective  homes.  After  resting  a  few  days,  it  hap- 
pened one  evening  that  Peter  and  Thomas,  Nathanael, 
John,  James  and  two  other  disciples  meet  together, 
probably  at  the  house  of  Simon  Peter,  which  stood 
near  the  shore  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias.  Reclining 
around  a  frugal  supper,  they  partook  of  "their  meal 
with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,"  and  when  the 
hymn  of  praise  was  sung,  they  conversed  long  and 
with  deep  interest  on  the  great  events  which  had  taken 
place  during  their  last  visit  to  Jerusalem,  and  on  the 
still  greater  events  and  changes  that  were  evidently 
close  by.  In  his  company  they  last  went  up  at  tho 
holy  season, — but  they  returned  alone;  and  what  a 
breach  had  his  absence  made  in  their  circle,  and  what 
a  change  in  their  situation!  Oh,  how  of\en  had  he 
been  sitting  with  them  under  this  shady  tree; — this 
tree  whose  full  branches,  whispering  peace  and  bend- 
ing down  round  about,  seemed  to  shut  out  the  noisy 
world,  and  every  wandering  thought,  while  they  glad- 
ly transmitted  the  silver  rays  of  the  moon,  or  friendly 
Bmile  of  some  twinkling  star,  as  if  nature  had  learnt 
again  her  original  tusk  of  being  a  helpmate  to  piety, 
and  a  guide  to  heaven,  for  her  Lord,  the  immortal 
man.  Here  used  to  be  his  seat! — unless  he  was  in- 
duced to  enter  the  dwelling  by  the  many  and  importu- 
nate   sufferers,   whose    infirmities   and   sicknesses  the 


500  MEDITATIONS. 

compassionate  Saviour  bore,  as  it  were,  upon  his  own 
shoulders.  Indeed,  where  was  the  spot  to  which  they 
could  turn  their  eyes  without  thinking  of  him?  "  Do 
you  remember,"  Peter  may  have  remarked,  "that 
time  when  he  walked  on  yonder  sea,  and  when  I  had 
the  daring  to  try  the  same,  and^  he  saved  me  from  a 
watery  grave?"  "Aye,  you  had  then  no  faith,"  some 
one  replied,  "  and  without  his  forgiving  love  you 
would  have  perished."  "But  this  was  not  near  as 
merciful,"  a  third  one  exclaimed,  "as  when  in  that 
stormy  night,  you  remember,  we  were  all  out  at  sea, 
and  he  slept  sweetly  trusting  in  God,  and  when  we 
were  all  full  of  unbelief  and  fear,  and  roused  him  with 
the  outcry,  'Lord  save  us,  or  we  perish!'  our  poor 
shell  of  a  boat  was  full  of  water  and  could  not  bear  a 
thread  of  canvass,  and  trembled  to  the  keel  at  every 
breaking  sea.  Indeed,  we  were  at  our  wit's  end, 
as  the  Psalmist  says.  But  he  rose!"  "Yes,"  an- 
other one  adds,  "  and  methinks  I  can  see  his  coun- 
tenance again;  how  it  reproved  and  comforted  us  at 
the  same  time;  and  then  turning  to  the  foaming  waves 
as  a  king  to  his  slaves,  he  ordered  peace  and  stillness 
and  was  obeyed  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  We,  ig- 
norant, carnal-minded  creatures,  then  little  knew  who 
he  was,  and  we  were  almost  in  more  terror  at  the 
miraculous  calm  which  followed  than  we  had  been  at 
the  gale  before.  But  blessed  be  God  that  his  charac- 
ter is  now  unfolded  to  us."  Meanwhile,  Thomas  sat 
with  downcast  countenance,  wiping  his  eyes  till  he 
could  keep  silence  no  more.  "  Oh,  brethren,  what  is 
it  to  save  worlds  from  sickness,  or  from  drowning, 
when  compared  with  the  work  of  redeeming  one  soul 


EARLY  MERTING  AT  THE  SEA   OF  TIBERIAS.  321 

from  sin  and  ruin?  What  is  it  to  pardon  the  misgiv- 
ings of  fallen  nature  in  the  dread  hour  of  overwhelm- 
ing peril,  when  compared  with  forgiving  such  unrea- 
sonable, protracted,  daring  stubbornness  and  unbelief, 
as  mine  was.  VVhy  am  I  not  now  weltering  in  the 
rolling  billows  of  that  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and 
brimstone?"  **  It  is  owing  to  his  free  and  tender 
mercies,"  they  all  concluded.  *'Yes,  brethren,'* 
John  sweetly  remarked,  '*  He  is  love;  and  he  that 
dwelleth  in  love,  dwelleth  in  him.  But,  beloved,  if 
God  so  loved  us,  we  ought  to  love  one  another." 

It  was  now  between  the  last  quarter  and  new  moon^ 
you  remember;  the  nights  were  darksome  and  still; 
the  moon  rose  about  morning;  more  favorable  nights 
for  fishing  could  not  well  be  expected.  Their  con- 
versation being  closed,  instead  of  going  to  bed,  Peter 
proposed  to  go  a-fishing,  and  the  night  was  too  in- 
viting and  their  hearts  too  full  and  too  much  melted 
into  one  at  the  moment,  to  permit  the  rest  to  retire. 
They  all  went,  labored  all  the  night,  and  "caught 
nothing."  As  the  morning  approaches,  the  moon  rises, 
the  east  begins  to  glimmer,  the  shadows  flee;  the  time 
for  fishing  is  past,  and  they  make  for  the  land.  All 
the  region  is  yet  buried  in  sleep  and  silence,  save  the 
wakeful  bird  that  sings  darkling,  and  the  waterfowl 
which  has  begun  to  move  swiftly,  screaming,  through 
the  higher  region  of  the  atmosphere,  to  reach  the 
great  western  sea  before  sunrise.  As  they  draw  nigh 
the  shore,  a  person  stands  there;  they  know  him 
not;  but  when  they  begin  to  be  quite  near,  before 
the  boat  touched  the  sand,  the  stranger  asks,  **  Chil- 
dren, have  ye  any  meat?"  *'No,"  is  the  answer;  — 
28 


322  MEDITATIONS. 

to  which  he  rejoins,  "  Cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of 
the  ship,  and  ye  shall  find."  Though  they  knew  him 
not,  it  was  no  great  thing  to  try  the  experiment,  and 
when  they  endeavor  to  draw  the  net  up  again  they 
are  hardly  able,  for  the  net  is  full.  The  association 
of  Jesus  and  such  a  draught  was  natural;  quick  as 
lightning  it  shoots  through  John's  mind,  "  It  is  the 
Lord,"  and  pulling  the  net  as  he  did  next  to  Peter,  he 
whispers  it  into  his  ear.  You  would,  doubtless,  not 
expect  to  see  Peter  a  minute  longer  in  the  boat, 
though  the  fishes  had  betn  of  pure  gold  and  silver. 
The  net  escapes  his  hands,  as  it  were  instinctively;  he 
slips  into  his  upper  garment  which  he  had  thrown  off, 
and  leaps  overboard  to  swim  ashore,  leaving  it  to  the 
rest  to  get  along  with  the  heavy  net  as  well  as  they  could. 
The  draught  being  secured,  the  other  disciples  come 
also  on  shore,  dragging  the  net  to  land.  By  this  time 
they  all  knew  him,  but  there  was  something  sacred 
and  uncommonly  awful  in  his  appearance;  something 
stranfijely  mysterious  in  the  whole  scene,  which  pre- 
cluded every  kind  of  familiarity;  and  though  he  ap- 
peared somewhat  changed  and  less  terrestrial,  if  I 
may  say  so,  than  ever,  they  durst  propose  no  question. 
Not  far  from  shore  there  is  a  coal-fire  with  fishes 
roasting  and  bread  for  a  breakfast,  and  Jesus  order.s 
some  of  the  other  fishes  to  be  brought  and  roasted 
also:  not  as  though  the  former  could  not  suffice,  (you 
remember  the  five  thousand  and  the  seven  thousand 
men  fed  miraculously,)  but  rather  to  convince  the 
trembling  disciples  that  the  food  already  prepared  was 
a]s9  proper,  material  food.  Then  saith  Christ,  "Come 
and  breakfast,"  and  while  they  gather  around  him,  he 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE   SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  3^3 

pronounces   the   blessing,    and,  assuming   the  office  of 
host,  he  distributes  the  fishes  and  the  bread. 

What  mortal  man  would  undertake  here  to  draw 
the  line  between  the  natural  and  the  supernatural? 
They  are  shaded  together  as  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow, and  equally  inseparable  are  the  intellectual  and 
moral  elements  exhibited  in  this  narrative;  and  as 
little  should  I  undertake  to  draw  the  line  between  the 
dignity  of  the  divine  and  sovereign  Lord,  and  the 
kindness  of  the  loving  and  tender  Master.  This 
shading  together  of  various  elements  is  very  often 
observable  in  the  life  of  Christ,  and  the  present  in- 
stance differs  from  the  rest  only  in  form  and  degree, 
but  not  in  substance.  Who  kindled  the  fire?  how  did 
he  get  the  bread  and  the  fishes?  You  might  as  well 
a^k,  Where  did  he  remain  during  the  ten  days  after 
his  resurrection?  IIow  did  he  pass  through  doors 
locked  up?  How  did  he  knov/  what  v,  as  going  on 
among  his  disciples,  and  their  thoughts,  their  frames 
of  mind,  and  what  are  the  laws  of  his  existence  now, 
etc.  etc.  I  frankly  confess  to  you,  I  do  not  know. 
The  laws  of  the  existence  of  Christ  in  his  spiritual 
body,  and  of  his  moving  and  acting  are  as  absolutely 
unintelligible  to  us,  as  the  laws  upon  which  mind  gen- 
erally, or  God  himself,  exists  and  acts.  It  is  vain  to 
speculate  where  we  have  no  means  of  experience.  It 
is  no  objection  to  a  doctrine  or  a  fact  that  it  is  in- 
comprehensible to  you.  Surely  there  is  no  time  when 
you  expect  to  know  everything,  unless  you  dream  of 
becoming  altogether  and  absolutely  gods.  Om- 
niscience is  a  divine  prerogative:  you  can  never  have 
it   through   all   eternity;     how  much   less   here    belov/, 


324  MEDITATIONS. 

Jtt^here  we  are  of  yesterday  and  know  nothing.  Spec- 
ulation finds  here  her  impassable  bounds;  but  there 
lies  a  world  of  comfort  in  this  little  story,  if  you  have 
faith  to  lay  hold  of  it.  Christ  is  the  host  of  his  people. 
How  often  are  they  in  distress,  in  poverty,  in  perse- 
cution, in  foreign  climes,  on  journeys  by  land  and  sea. 
They  labor  all  night  and  catch  nothing,  and  they  pre- 
pare for  a  season  of  severe  fasting  and  distress;  and 
in  the  meantime,  Christ  has  decked  their  table,  and 
then  meets  with  them  to  comfort  them  in  all  their 
troubles;  and  as  soon  as  they  are  prepared  for  it  he 
|)uts  them  into  the  way  of  getting  into  all  plenty,  they 
know  not  how.  I  could  tell  you  ten  examples  from 
mere  remembrance,  where  the  hand  of  Christ  was 
everything  but  visible  to  the  very  eye;  but  our  time 
forbids,  and  such  facts  are  not  for  everybody.  The 
world  will  profane  them  and  call  them  the  effect  of 
chance;  though  it  is  clearer  than  noonday  that  there 
is  not  even  such  a  thing  as  chance  in  existence,  —  no, 
not  even  if  Atheism  itself  were  true.  Oh,  my  brethren, 
my  fellow  pilgrims  and  strangers,  the  time  may  come 
when  you  will  labor  all  night  for  the  necessaries  of 
i  life  and  will  obtain  nothing,  but  it  is  only  a  trial  of 
,  your  faith.  Soon  the  night  and  darkness  will  pass, 
,.  the  morning  will  dawn,  and  the  voice  of  Jesus  will  be 
wafted  down  from  heaven  to  you,  saying,  "Children, 
have  ye  any  meat?"  and  while  the  melancholy  "No" 
13  yet  on  your  lips,  behold  your  repast  is  already  pre- 
pared, your  night  turned  into  day,  and  your  troubles 
:  into  temporal  and  spiritual  comfort  and  plenty. 

The  breakfast  is  ended.     Before  parting,  Christ  has 
ft  word  of  importance  to  speak  to  Peter.     It  is  natural 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE   SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  325 

to  suppose  that  Peter,  who  leaped  overboard  an  hour 
ago  to  come  to  Christ  before  the  rest  could  meet  him, 
was  also  as  close  as  possible  about  his  beloved  master 
during  the  meal:  and  the  experienced  Christian  who 
knows  the  human  heart  will  not  think  it  too  much,  if  I 
say  Peter  probably  felt  somewhat  tempted  to  outdo  the 
rest  of  the  disciples,  not  in  daring  now,  but  in  love  to 
Christ,  or  whatsoever  it  was;  if  I  mistake  not,  it  was 
some  kind  of  emulation  which  tempted  him,  implying 
a  comparison  between  himself  and  the  rest:  perhaps  a 
comparison  in  reference  to  what  is  in  itself  most  holy, 
just  and  good.  This  was  not  as  it  should  have  been. 
No.  Why?  you  say;  shall  we  not  each  one  of  us  en- 
deavor to  love  and  serve  Christ  better  that  the  rest, 
and  be  emulous  in  holy  things?  I  answer  with  all  the 
emphasis  I  can  command,  No,  by  no  means!  What! 
not  endeavor  to  be  the  most  pious  of  all  Christians 
living,  and  to  leave  everybody  behind  us  in  godliness? 
No,  no!  as  you  love  your  souls,  no!  Here  lies  the 
most  refined,  but  also  the  most  dangerous  snare  of 
Satan.  Avoid  it,  or  you  will  fall;  and  your  fall  will  be 
great.  But  what  shall  we  then  endeavor  to  be?  En- 
deavor to  be  the  poorest  sinners j  the  golden  steps  of 
sanctification  lead  downward;  mark  it.  What!  shall 
we  plunge  into  sin?  God  forbid!  live  like  Enoch,  if 
you  can;  yea,  like  Christ  himself.  But  either  do  not 
compare  yourself  with  other  Christians  at  all,  or  if  you 
do,  be  sure  to  compare  yourselves  with  those  who  are 
better  than  you,  and  get  the  lowest  place;  and  that  in 
sincerity  and  in  truth  before  God.  And  if  you  cannot 
get  it  in  sincerity,  infer  from  it  your  wickedness  and 
the  deep-rooted  pride  of  your  heart,  and  humble  your- 
28* 


^  526  MEDITATIONS. 

selves  into  dust  and  ashes.  Praj,  what  is  the  use  of 
comparing  one's  self  with  others  who  are  Jess?  Oh, 
how  miserable  to  see  a  Christian,  who  strives  to  be 
uppermost   and  foremost,    or  who   perhaps  thinks  him- 

;j.  self  neglected  by  his  brethren,  and  strives  to  show 
that  he  is  as  good  a  Christian  and  as  useful  a  member 
of  the  Church  as  anybody.       Is  there  no  motive  in  all 

^  the   dying  love  of  Christ   to  induce   you   to   love   and 

/  serve  him  in  secret?     Will  he  not  know  it?     Oh,  yea. 

^And  is  this  not  enough?     Must  the  demon  of  emulation 
Iflress   up  in  sheep's  clothing  to   impel  you  to  the   pro- 
duction of  external  fruits   of  righteousness  which  you 
would  never  have  borne   had  the   church  been  willing 
to  consider  you  a  saint  without   them?      Oh,  that   the 

'  humbling  voice  of  Christ  might  come  to  you  with  the 
confounding,  heart-searching  question,  '^Simon,  son  of 
Jonas f  lovest  thou  me  more  than  these"?'*  "Wilt  thou 
compare  thyself  again?"  Happy  if  you  then  under- 
stand the  solemn  appeal  as  Peter  did,  and  if  your  an- 
swer will  be  like  his.  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest 
thou  me  more  than  these?"  Peter,  thoroughly  con- 
verted and  changed,  understood  and  took  the  hint  at 
once,  and  with  humble  cheerfulness,  as  every  true 
Christian  in  fact  does.  In  an  instant  he  gives  up 
every  claim  to  superiority,  contents  himself  with  pro- 
fessing the  simple  love  of  Christ,  and  for  the  truth  of 
his  profession  appeals  to  the  omniscience  of  his  Lord. 
This  he  does  especially  in  the  17th  verse,  where  he  ex- 
pressly says,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things,  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Jesus's  all-seeing  eye  at 
once  discerns  the  sincerity  of  Peter's  profession,  but 
ulso  the  necessity  of  his  remembering  more  distinctly 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  327 

and  more  continually  his  late  melancholy  fall.  And 
thus  he  wisely  connects  tl^ese  two  forever  in  Peter's 
mind.  Three  times  he  asks,  and  three  times  Peter 
must  testify  his  attachment  to  his  Lord,  till  his  heart 
and  voice  almost  fail;  then  Christ  gives  and  confirms 
to  him  the  charge,  '*Feed  my  sheep!  Follow  thou 
me." 

Peter  has  professed  much,  and  has  appealed  to  high 
authority.  But  he  has  done  it  in  truth,  and  has  met 
with  acceptance.  But  God  has  a  right  to  try  and  test 
the  most  sincere  profession  as  well  as  the  most  spurious 
one.  Peter's  profession  was  ultimately  to  be  tried  by 
the  cross,  and  our  Lord  makes  of  this  circumstance 
another  means  of  saving  the  beloved  disciples  from  the 
perils  of  ease  and  self-confidence.  The  consciousness 
of  that  approaching  trial  was  to  accompany  the  apostle 
through  life  and  to  keep  him  continually  at  the  feet  of 
Christ.  *' Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  when  thou 
wast  young,"  and  strong,  and  knewest  nothing  better 
than  common  rectitude  and  rights  and  claims,  thou 
didst  make  full  use  of  the  independence  of  thy  mind, 
resist  wrong,  return  injuries,  and  frown  at  oppression: 
but  thy  professed  love  to  me  will  lead  thee  another  and 
a  harder  way  hereafter.  Thou  mayest  no  more  resist 
evil;  and  the  time  cometh  when,  an  old  helpless  man, 
thou  shalt  suffer  thyself  to  be  bound,  and  led  to  a  place 
where  flesh  and  blood  tremble  to  go.  But,  when  that 
time  is  come,  then  think  of  my  example  in  death,  and 
act  as  I  did:  *'  Follow  me."  Thus  saying,  Christ  pre- 
pares to  withdraw.  The  words  "follow  me,"  were  ev- 
idently ambiguous,  and  Peter,  thinking  our  Lord  might 
have  a  private  word  to  speak  to  him,  followed  after 


328  MEDITATIONS. 

him.  John,  seeing  this,  follows  also;  and  Peter,  anx- 
ious to  be  left  alone  with  'Christ,  who,  he  thought,  had 
something  private  to  communicate  to  him,  says,  "  Lord, 
but  what  is  this  man  doing  ?"  Christ  replies:  "  If  I 
will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee? 
follow  thou  me."  This  reply  corrected  Peter's  mis- 
take, for  it  has  evidently  no  meaning,  {[literal  tarrying 
or  following  after  Christ  was  intended.  Its  only  mean- 
ing could  be,  1  told  you,  you  would  die  the  same  death 
as  I  did,  and  exhorted  you  to  copy  my  example.  If  I 
have  a  different  plan  with  this  disciple,  and  permit  him 
to  live  till  /come  to  call  him  home,  or  even  to  judge 
the  world,  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  your  duty  to  me. 
Follow  me,  this  is  all  you  have  to  do!"  Peter  under- 
stood the  meaning  of  Christ  now.  The  manner  in 
which  our  Lord  withdrew  this  time  is  not  mentioned; 
the  popular  superstition  among  the  brethren  that  John 
would  not  die  till  the  coming  of  Christ,  that  apostle 
contradicts  himself;  and  after  having  testified  that  the 
facts  related  in  his  gospel  are  true,  and  that  he  was 
an  eye  and  ear-witness  of  them  all,  he  closes  his  gos- 
pel.    This  brings  us  to 

II.  Our  second  topic,  which  will  occupy  but  a  few 
minutes.  It  is  clear  that  if  the  five  hundred  brethren 
were  to  be  ready  for  the  grand  assembly,  they  must 
needs  receive  notice  that  Christ  had  made  himself 
visible  again  after  their  return  to  Galilee;  otherwise 
they  would  naturally  soon  disperse.  This  object  was 
accomplished  in  the  present  instance,  together  with 
some  others  of  still  more  moment.  It  will  appear  in 
my  next   discourse,  that  the  chief  object  of  the  great 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  329 

meeting  alluded  to,  was  not  only  to  give  them  all  an 
opportunity  to  see  Christ  —  for  this  would  not  have 
been  absolutely  necessary,  for  aught  that  appears  — 
but  to  introduce  the  apostles  to  the  whole  church  then 
living  as  their  representatives  and  inspired  teachers, 
whom  they  all  were  unanimously  to  follow.  But  if 
this  was  to  be  done,  then  the  conceptions  of  the  disci- 
ples concerning  Christ,  were  to  be  ennobled  and 
raised  to  a  certain  degree  known  to  Christ  only,  and 
their  conviction  matured;  otherwise  the  mountain 
weight  of  apostleship  could  not  consistently  be  put 
upon  their  shoulders.  Especially,  Peter,  who  was  to 
act  at  once  so  powerful  and  prominent  a  part  among 
the  twelve,  needed  to  be  armed  with  the  panoply  of  a 
thorough,  ripe  experience.  All  this,  perfectly  dis- 
cerned by  Christ,  was  accomplished  in  the  present  in- 
stance; and  although  this  important  object  does  not 
appear  so  plain  to  us,  in  reference  to  the  other  apos- 
tles, certainly  in  the  case  of  Peter  the  indispensable 
necessity  of  such  an  interview,  of  such  a  finished 
preparation  for  extensive  labor  in  the  exercise  of  deep 
personal  humility,  before  the  great  charge  was  to  be 
committed  to  him  in  the  presence  of  the  church,  is 
very  plain  even  to  us.  Peter  was  now  prepared  to 
set  out  on  his  apostolic  career;  and  so  were  the  rest. 
This  was  another  end  accomplished.  The  notice 
also  probably  was  now  sent  abroad  to  all  believers, 
Be  ye  ready,  the  Lord  hath  appeared!  This  was 
another  still.  In  the  meantime,  an  impression  supe- 
rior to  any  former  one  was  left  on  the  minds  of  the 
disciples  in  reference  to  Christ;  a  spirituality,  a  maj- 
esty, an  awe   marked  this  interview,  which  well  pre- 


330  MEDITATIONS. 

pared  their  minds  ere  long  to  see  him  ride  up  to 
heaven  in  a  cloud  to  repossess  his  throne;  and  yet 
there  was  nevertheless  beaming  from  his  conduct  all 
the  affection  he  ever  had  for  them  when  he  was  in  this 
world  clothed  in  mortal  flesh.  Again;  as  in  all  the 
former  instances  when  he  appeared  to  his  disciples,  so 
here  again,  our  Lord  addresses  himself  to  the  external 
senses,  to  the  intellect,  and  the  moral  sensibilities  of 
his  friends.  No  mere  appeal  to  sense,  no  disproportion 
of  what  is  intellectual;  no  morbid,  or  overstrained  ex- 
ercise of  the  affection;  but  the  most  beautifully  pro- 
portionate exercise  of  all  the  faculties  of  men  are 
discerned  here,  producing  the  most  satisfactory  and 
invincible  kind  and  degree  of  conviction  en  the  sub- 
ject of  his  real  resurrection  and  the  exalted  nature  of 
his  being.  But  there  is  something  peculiar  connected 
with  the  story  of  our  text,  which  we  cannot  pass  by  in 
silence.  After  all,  the  two  weeks  which  the  disciples 
had  lately  spent  in  Jerusalem,  and  during  the  former 
of  which  Christ  had  been  crucified,  were  a  season  of 
high  excitement  with  them.  Indeed,  our  Lord  gave 
every  possible  opportunity  at  that  time,  to  become  and 
be  wakeful  and  sober,  to  retire,  to  rest,  to  meditate,  to 
pray,  to  read  the  Prophets,  to  think.  His  appear- 
ances there  exhibit,  as  we  saw  some  time  since,  such 
a  wise  economy,  and  such  an  adaptation  to  the  differ- 
ent cases  of  individuals,  as  cannot  fairly  be  considered 
the  result  of  human  penetration  merely;  and  every- 
where he  labored  to  produce,  and  did  produce,  a  con- 
viction which  rested  on  a  deep  foundation.  Neverthe- 
less, there  was,  perhaps,  occasion  on  the  part  of  the 
disciples   to  wish   for  another  interview  at   this  time. 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  331 

Now  they  were  amid  the  unquestioned  realities  of 
common  life,  in  the  sober  pursuits  of  trade  and  domes- 
tic employment.  "If you  could  see  him  now,"  some 
infidel  would  perhaps  remark  to  them,  "  the  thing 
would  appear  to  you  quite  otherwise."  And  behold, 
they  saw  him  now.  He  appeared.  He  suffered  the 
excitement  wholly  to  subside;  on  their  journey  home- 
ward he  was  not  seen:  he  gave  them  time  to  recover, 
to  return  to  their  work;  then  appeared  about  sunrise; — 
not  his  appearance,  but  the  draught  of  fishes  muv^t 
convince  them  who  he  is.  Nothing  is  there  to  divert, 
nothing  to  excite,  nothing  to  frighten  them.  They  eat, 
they  drink,  they  converse,  they  are  in  a  frame  of  mind 
beyond  question  of  the  most  sober  kind;  and  the  hun- 
dred and  fifty  fishes  caught,  and  accurately  numbered 
by  them,  though  dumb,  could  afterwards  still  testify  to 
the  interesting  reality  of  that  heavenly  morning  scene. 

What  a  sea  of  conviction  and  of  cheerful  certainty 
and  satisfaction  must  have  rolled  into  their  minds. 
He  is  risen  again! —  he  is  risen,  though  the  world  de- 
ny it,  and  all  hell  tremble  to  the  bottom  and  foam  out 
mad  scorn  and  lying  blasphemy  and  blazing  persecu- 
tion. He  lives!  their  hearts  shouted;  and  they  could 
hardly  await  the  time  when  they  were  permitted  to 
make  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ring  again  with  the 
great,  soul-inspiring  news. 

Thus  you  see  the  various  and  important  objects  of 
this  appearance  of  our  Lord.  Though  learned  infi- 
delity may  see  no  worthy  purpose  and  drift  in  our 
story,  we  do  see  it,  and  we  cannot  spare  a  portion  of 
holy  writ,  of  which  they  made  such  hard  efforts  to  rid 
themselves. 


332  MEDITATIONS. 

III.  Several  remarks  belonging  under  this  head, 
escaped  us  and  came  in  by  way  of  digression  during 
the  course  of  our  meditation.  For  this  I  am  not  sorry. 
On'the  contrary  I  rejoice,  because  it  will  give  me  the 
more  time  (if  any  time  be  left  us)  to  address  to  you 
and  to  myself,  not  abstract  remarks,  but  a  question  in 
the  name  of  Jesus,  our  risen  Lord;  a  question  which 
carries  along  with  it  all  the  heartsearching,  absorbing 
importance  and  solemnity  of  the  judgment-day. 

*' Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me.'"'  **Lord 
thou  knowest  all  things;  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee!" 

Need  I  say  more?  Is  there  a  heart  here  so  dull 
and  stupid,  whose  most  secret  cord  does  not  thrill 
audibly  at  the  very  hearing  of  this  piercing,  all-de- 
cisive question,  or  stand  aghast  at  the  reply,  clothed 
in  humble  shame,  yet  full  of  sacred  single-hearted- 
ness and  boldness,  and  big  with  eternal  consequences.^ 
But  Peter  is  in  heaven,  and  the  question  stands  re- 
corded in  your  Bible,  hearer,  not  as  an  idle  interroga- 
tory, but  to  be  answered  by  you.  You  did  not  escape 
the  tender  regard  of  Jesus  in  the  administration  of  his 
sovereign  mercy;  he  has  given  you  his  word,  he  has 
propounded  to  you  the  great  question  deciding  life  or 
death;  the  reply  of  your  heart  will  not  escape  the  all- 
pervading  eye  of  his  omniscience,  nor  your  soul  the 
grasp  of  his  omnipotent  hand.  I  testify  to  you  to-day, 
that,  as  this  divine  service  is  not  an  idle  round  of  hu- 
man ceremony,  but  the  proclamation  of  peace  and 
everlasting  life  through  Christ,  so  is  the  question  now 
propounded  to  you  all  not  an  ingenious  display  of  elo- 
quence  nor  a  hyperbole;   but  a  sentiment  which  the 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OP  TIBERIAS.  S33 

divine  Spirit  has  copied  from  the  book  of  <  uestions  ro 
be  used  at  the  judgment-day,  and  has  hung  it  ou'  -f 
heaven  for  your  reading,  and  your  solemn  considera- 
tion and  reply  before  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God.  It 
may  be  an  empty  question  to  Satan  or  to  the  damned 
in  hell  who  are  forever  lost:  but  to  you,  whose  sands 
are  running  yet,  it  is  real,  solemn  and  eventful,  as  one 
of  the  seven  mysterious  thunders  in  heaven. 

Come  now,  whether  you  be  believers  or  worldlings, 
come  now  and  gather  round  this  burning  sentence  of 
inspiration,  which  the  ifinger  of  God  has  written  upon 
these  walls  to-day;  for  I  shall  not  let  you  go  out  by  this 
door  again,  till  I  have  pressed  to  the  utmost  of  my 
power  its  solemn  contents,  and  once  more  washed  my 
hands  of  your  blood,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  angels, 
and  men;  or  if  you  are  a  believer,  not  until  I  have 
poured  its  healing  balm  into  your  soul,  and  fixed  your 
steadfast  eye  upon  this  polar  star  of  your  road  to 
heaven. 

My  unconverted  hearers,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  diffi- 
culty, you  yourselves  being  judges,  to  decide  which 
dish  on  your  table  you  like  best,  which  book,  which 
entertainment  you  prefer,  for  which  of  your  acquaint- 
ances you  feel  any  regard  or  attachment,  or  whether 
you  do,  or  do  not,  love  your  father  or  mother,  husband  or 
wife,  son  or  daughter,  or  your  own  life,  etc.  It  is  a 
matter  of  simple  consciousness,  and  a  little  child  has  an 
answer  ready  to  this  question  long  before  it  can  re|  ly 
to  any  other.  I  shall  therefore  not  permit  you  to  plead 
ignorance  on  this  subject.  To  love  an  individual  with- 
out being  conscious  of  it,  is  as  absurd  as  any  contra- 
diction in  terms  can  ever  be,  and  the  merest  refuge  of 
29 


334  MEDITATIONS. 

lies  behind  which  any  sinner  ever  endeavored  to  hide 
the  rebellion  of  his  heart.  You  know  it  if  you 
love  Christ;  and  if  you  love  him  not,  you  know  it 
likewise. 

Step  forth,  then;  the  risen  Saviour  is  here  and  asks 
you,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me.''*'  Re- 
member that  your  answer  must  he  given  with  an 
appeal  to  his  omniscience.  Look  back  upon  your 
life,  examine  your  dealings  and  your  daily  frame  of 
mind,  enter  into  your  closet  and  draw  your  secret 
hours  to  the  day-light  before  God,  search  your  hearts 
as  with  a  candle,  weigh  your  motives  in  the  balance 
of  the  sanctuary,  — then  open  your  mouth  and  speak, 
and  all  heaven  shall  listen  and  the  answer  will  be  re- 
corded above. 

If  from  your  infancy  religion  has  appeared  a  gloomy 
task  which  a  poor  man  must  perform  or  be  lost;  if  re- 
ligious meetings  and  the  society  of  godly  people  have 
appeared  to  you  dull  seasons,  and  the  Bible  a  tedious 
book;  if  novels,  poetry  and  plays,  the  political,  literary, 
mercantile,  witty,  or  epicurean  and  cynic  periodicals 
of  our  forlorn  generation  have  filled  up  your  leisure 
hours  and  engrossed  your  minds;  if  you  are  in  the 
habit  of  rising  up  and  retiring  without  prayer,  —  a 
thing  which  no  consistent  Jew,  Mohammedan,  or 
Heathen  will  do;  if,  in  your  dealings  with  men,  honor 
has  been  the  noblest  principle,  while  self-denying, 
christian  charity  has  been  excluded;  i^  your  secret 
hours  have  been  stained  with  secret  crimes,  or  with 
thoughtless  indifference  to  your  high  and  divine  desti- 
nation and  to  the  all-pervading  presence  of  God,  — 
void  of  contemplation  and  better  thoughts,  void  of  de- 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  335 

votion,  void  of  interest,  void  of  spiritual  profit;  if  your 
grand  motive  and  spring  of  action  has  been  to  get 
along  in  the  world,  as  they  say,  to  obtain  a  situation, 
to  become  independent;  in  one  word,  to  get,  to  possess, 
to  enjoy,  to  become  something  aside  from  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  love  and  the  kingdom  of  Christ;  no  mat- 
ter whether  that  something  was  in  itself  lawful  or  un- 
lawful, great  or  small;  above  all  things,  if  Christ  and 
his  cross  have  been  to  you  without  form  and  comeli- 
ness, if  they  never  melted  your  heart,  nor  lifted  your 
soul  above  the  follies  and  the  mole-hill  concerns  of  this 
trifling  world,  nor  filled  you  with  holy  admiration  or 
with  holy  resolution,  with  heavenly  love  and  heavenly 
energy  to  follow  Christ,  and  to  do  his  will;  then,  oh, 
then  hesitate  not  to  confess,  (for  you  cannot  hide  it,) 
and  say.  Lord  thou  knowest  all  things;  thou  knowest 
that  I  love  thee  not.  Then  hesitate  not  to  admit,  (for 
you  had  better  know  it  in  season  if  peradventure  you 
may  be  struck  with  holy  terror  and  turn  to  Christ  and 
live,)  then  hesitate  not  to  admit  at  once,  that  to  you 
the  divine  sentiment  before  us  is  a  dreadful  "  Mene, 
mene,  tekel,  upharsin,"  i.  e.  God  has  remembered  thy 
kingdom  and  finished  it."  Thy  fleeting  privileges,  thy 
moments  of  mercy  hasten  to  their  melancholy  catas- 
trophe: "  thou  art  weighed  in  the  balance  (of  heaven) 
and  found  wanting;"  thy  kingdom,  thy  inheritance  in 
heaven,  vainly  purchased  for  thee  and  vainly  oflTered, 
is  torn  from  thee  and  given  to  some  poor  despised 
heathen  in  the  island  of  the  sea,  or  in  yonder  China 
or  India,  or  to  some  perishing  slave  in  the  new  world. 
Ah!  it  is  a  melancholy  thing  to  look  about  among  my 
hearers  and  to  ask  whose  case  is  now  described.     Who 


336  MEDITATIONS. 

will  be  thrust  out  of  heaven  as  an  enemy  of  Christ? 
Methinks  I  can  spare  none  of  you;  and  blessed  be  the 
Lord  that  I  can  yet  stand  between  you  and  ruin,  and 
plead  with  you  the  cause  of  your  immortal  soul.  Alas! 
in  the  evil  days  into  which  our  lot  has  fallen,  we  are 
confined  with  this  privilege  almost  entirely  to  the  sa- 
cred desk  and  to  the  fleeting  hour  of  preaching.  In 
common  conversation  you  vyill  give  us  no  chance. 
Let  me  then  improve  this  moment,  and  plead  with  you 
as  I  have  often  done  before,  by  all  that  is  dear  to  you. 
Love  not  the  world  and  its  toys;  but  love  and  follow 
Christ.  Let  me  throw  the  whole  weight  of  eternity, 
of  heaven  and  hell  into  the  scale  of  your  decision,  and 
settle  it  forever  that  you  will  love  and  follow  Christ, 
and  serve  and  glorify  him.  Your  spiritual  grave  is 
open;  angels  have  rolled  the  rock  away:  the  folding- 
doors  of  heaven's  gate  are  thrown  back;  the  gospel- 
trumpet  rings  in  your  ears.  Listen,  I  do  beseech  you, 
listen  to  it  while  it  does  sound.  Soon  it  will  stop  for- 
ever, to  give  room  to  the  thunder  of  the  archangel's 
voice.  Then  it  will  be  forever  too  late;  and  I  shall 
bear  witness  against  you,  that  you  have  heard  the 
sound  of  the  gospel-trumpet,  and  took  no  warning;  and 
the  sword  came  and  took  you  away,  and  that  your 
blood  is  upon  your  own  head.  Oh,  that  the  Lord 
might  deliver  me  from  that  task,  and  convert  and  save 
you  all. 

To  those  who  know  Christ  and  the  power  of  his 
resurrection  and  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  the 
heart-searching  question  of  Christ  is  addressed  for 
their  self-examination,  and  for  their  humiliation,  no 
doubt;  but  also  for  their  comfort.    You  will  not  expect 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.  337 

me  to  describe  to  you  the  peace  and  blessedness  of 
Peter,  when  the  great  profession  was  made,  his  con- 
science bearing  him  witness  in  the  Holy  Ghost  that  he 
spoke  the  truth  in  Christ  and  did  not  He.  And  though 
the  remembrance  of  his  fall  and  of  a  misspent  life 
humbled  him  deeply,  yet  the  sense  of  Jesus's  love 
kept  him  from  sinking,  and  assured  him  that  his  sins 
were  all  forgiven,  and  that  the  work  of  divine  grace 
was  in  his  heart.  The  great  evidence  of  a  new  state 
of  mind  was  there,  and  though  he  was  the  least  among 
the  saints,  he  professed  Christ,  and  Christ  was  all  he 
wanted- 

My  brethren  and  sisters,  let  us  remember  this,  and 
not  seek  again  the  evidence  of  our  conversion  in  the 
imperfect  fruits  of  righteousness  we  bear.  Since  Jesus 
has  left  this  world,  and  is  gone  up  to  heaven  whence 
he  came,  perfection  has  ceased  to  dwell  on  earth. 
Let  the  touchstone  of  our  hopes  be  the  love  of  Christ. 
If  we  can  look  about  over  all  creation,  and  then,  ap- 
pealing to  his  omniscience,  say,  "Lord,  thou  knowest 
that  I  love  thee,"  and  that  I  love  thee  more  than  all 
these  things;  more  than  1  do  father  or  mother,  brother 
or  sister,  husband  or  wife,  son  or  daughter,  yea,  more 
than  my  own  life  also;  though  that  love  may  still  be, 
'd.9  indeed  it  must,  infinitely  below  our  debt  of  grati- 
tude, infinitely  below  his  merits,  his  loveliness,  and  his 
love  to  us;  though  the  fruits  of  our  faith  and  love  may 
be,  as  indeed  they  ever  must  be,  infinitely  below  our 
obligations  to  him,  and  infinitely  below  his  blessed, 
perfect  example  —  be  not  disheartened.  You  still  love 
him  more  than  all  besides;  and  do  you  think  that  he 
layes  you  less?  Sooner  will  he  blot  out  the  stars  than 
9Q* 


338  MEDITATIONS. 

quench  the  little  glimmering  spark  of  divine  love  in 
your  hearls,  or  leave  you  to  perish.     Forget  all  your 
own  works,   all  your  sins  and   imperfections,   and  all 
your  gifts  and  graces,  too,   and  love  him  with  your 
whole  heart,  though  it  be  but  small  and  contracted  yet. 
He   will  also  love  you  with  his  whole  heart,   and  his 
heart  is  a  rolling  ocean  of  love,   a  burning  fire  of  un- 
dying affection.     Do  you  think  he  will  reckon  with  you 
about  your  little  works?     Love  does   not  reckon.     Or 
does  he  need  them?     If  he  were  hungry  or  thirsty,  he 
would  not  tell  you ;    Lebanon  is  too  small  for  an  offer- 
ing, and  the  beasts  thereof  too  few  for  a  burnt-offering; 
and  the  cattle   upon  a  thousand  hills   are  his.     It  is 
your  heart  he  wants;    if  that  be  his,  and  wholly  his,  he 
is  satisfied;    he  will  adorn  it  for  himself  without  your 
knowing  it.      While  you    tune   your   plaintive    song,  «t 
*'Look  not  upon   me,   O  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 
because  I  am  black,  because  the  sun  hath  looked  upon 
me:  my  mother's   children  were   angry  with  me;  they 
made  me  a  keeper  of  the  vineyards;    but  mine  own 
vineyard  have   I   not   kept.      Tell   me,  O  thou  whom 
my  soul  loveth,  where  thou  feedest,  where  thou  makest 
thy  flock  to  rest  at  noon:    for  why  should  I  be  as  one 
that  turneth  aside  by  the  flocks  of  thy  companions?" 
He  will  answer,  and  say,    "How  fair  is  thy  love,  my 
sister,  my  spouse!    how  much  better  is  thy  love  than 
wine!  and  the  smell  of  thine  ointments  than  all  spices!" 
*' Thou  hast  loved  much,   therefore  much  is  forgiven 
thee."       "Follow  thou   me,"   and  be   forever  mine! 
And  ere  you  are  aware  of  it,  or  think  of  it,  or  dare  to 
hope  it,   or  dare  to  believe  it  yourself,   he  will  make 
your  light  shine  before  men,  that  they,  not  you,  may 


EARLY  MEETING  AT  THE  SEA  OF  TIBERIAS.         339 

see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is 
in  heaven.  Like  the  sun  you  will  warm  and  quicken 
all  around  you,  though  like  him  unconsciously,  per- 
haps; like  the  stars  you  will  shine,  but  not  unto  your- 
self. 

"Awake,  O  north  wind,  and  come,  thou  south; 
blow  upon  my  garden,  that  the  spices  thereof  may 
flow  out.  Let  my  beloved  come  into  his  garden,  and 
eat  his  pleasant  fruits."     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


XV. 


THE  MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN. 


MARK  XVI,  15— 18  J   1  CORINTHIANS,  XV,  6. 

And  lie  said  unto  them.  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  He  that  helieveth  and  is  baptized,  sh.ill  be  saved  ;  but  he  that 
helieveth  not  ehal)  be  damned.  And  these  signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe  ; 
in  my  name  shall  they  cast  out  devils  ;  they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues  j  they 
shall  take  up  serpents;  and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  not  hurt  them  ; 
they  shall  lay  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall  recover. 

After  that,  he  was  seen  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once  j  of  whom  tbo 
greater  part  remain  unto  this  present,  but  some  are  fallen  asleep. 

In  selecting  my  text  for  my  present  discourse,  I  as- 
sume that  Matthew  and  Mark,  in  the  passages  which  I 
read  first,  and  Paul  in  the  one  which  followed,  refer  to 
one  and  the  same  event.  As  I  do  not  enjoy  in  this 
view  of  the  subject  the  assent  of  some  of  the  latest 
critics,  I  feel  an  obligation  briefly  and  candidly  to  men- 
tion the  reasons  which  have  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
to  which  I  have  come,  relative  to  the  identity  of  the 
event  in  the  three  passages  of  Scripture. 


34^  MEDITATIONS. 

1 .  The  meeting  in  Galilee  was  the  all-absorbing  sub- 
ject of  expectation  after  Christ's  resurrection.  The 
angels  at  the  sepulchre  remind  the  women  of  it,  and 
send  word  to  the  disciples  and  to  Peter,  that  it  would 
certainly  take  place.  Christ  himself  had  given  to  his 
disciples  a  special  promise  of  that  meeting  before  his 
death;  and  by  Mary,  whom  he  met  at  the  sepulchre 
after  rising  from  the  dead,  he  reminded  his  brethren  of 
proceeding  to  Galilee.  All  these  preparations  answer 
well  to  the  meeting  of  the  five  hundred,  which  was  no 
less  than  the  assembly  of  the  whole  church  then  liv- 
ing. In  the  above  errands  of  the  angels  and  of  Christ, 
the  term  '*  disciples"  is  not  necessarily  restricted  to 
the  eleven;   other  believers  were  sometimes  called  so, 

and  the  expression  "brethren,"  which  Mark  uses  in 
its  place,  clearly  points  to  a  broader  acceptation  of 
the  term  "  disciples."  The  twelve  disciples  of  Christ 
were  never  called  his  brethren  exclusively  of  other  be- 
lievers. 

2.  What  Christ  says  at  the  meeting  itself,  concerns 
the  whole  church,  and  cannot  be  limited  to  the  eleven. 
They  could  neither  baptize  all  the  nations,  nor  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature,  nor  enjoy  on  earth  the  pre- 
sence of  Christ  to  the  end  of  time.  But  the  church  can, 
and  will  do,  and  enjoy  all  this. 

3.  Some,  upon  seeing  Christ  upon  that  occasion, 
doubted  whether  it  was  him,  or  not;  this  could  not  be 
expected  of  the  eleven  disciples,  who  had  already  seen 
Christ  time  and  again;  but  must  be  supposed  to  refer 
to  some  other  believers  who  had  never  before  seen 
Christ  in  his  glorified  and  elevated  condition;  other 
believers  must  therefore  have  been  present,  and  why 
not  all  the  five  hundred? 


MEETING  OP  THE  flVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       S4S 

4.  A  meeting  like  that  of  the  whole  church  would 
naturally  be  mentioned  by  the  evangelists;  but  if  it  is  not 
contained  in  the  portions  of  Scripture  which  I  interpret 
as  alluding  to  it,  I  ask,  where  is  it  contained  ?  To  the 
objection  that  neither  Matthew  nor  Mark  mention  the 
number  of  believers  present  to  have  been  so  great,  I 
reply,  these  two  evangelists  are  evidently  exceedingly 
brief  towards  the  close  of  their  accounts;  they  only 
mention  what  is  altogether  essential  for  their  purpose, 
and  dismiss  the  rest,  or  assume  it  as  a  well-known  fact. 
Nevertheless,  the  mention  of  a  mountain  in  Galilee, 
already  leads  to  the  idea  of  a.  large  congregation,  one 
not  to  be  assembled  within  walls,  as  the  eleven  at  Je- 
rusalem used  to  be;  and  the  recollection  of  the  reader 
at  the  period  when  the  gospels  were  written,  would 
then  easily  supply  what  the  necessity  of  conciseness 
did  not  permit  the  evangelists  to  insert. 

While  we  implore  the  assistance  of  Him  who  alone 
can  guide  us  into  all  truth,  we  proceed  to  the  contem- 
plation of  the  solemn  and  interesting  event  before  us. 
It  is  the  only  instance  in  the  history  of  our  globe,  when 
the  whole  church  of  Christ  was  assembled  in  one  place, 
with  Christ  himself,  visible  and  audible  in  the  midst  of 
them.  Till  the  eternal  separation  of  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat,  of  the  good  seed  from  the  tares,  —  till  the  con- 
summation of  all  things,  such  a  meeting  will  take  place 
no  more. 

Unwilling  to  lose  any  prominent  part  of  my  text,  I 
must  again  beg  the  indulgence  of  my  audience,  if  the 
arrangement  of  the  discourse  exhibits  nothing  like  logic. 
The  substance  of  it  shall  not  be  destitute  of  reason  and 
argument.     The   fact  is,  that   I  want  to   occupy  the 


344  MEDITATIONS. 

whole  ground  as  far  as  my  time  will  permit.  If  I  were 
to  cut  up  this  meditation  into  propositions,  1  should  want 
to  stretch  their  terms  beyond  the  power  of  language. 
But  I  feel  as  though  we  should  all  be  most  profited,  if 
we  should,  with  one  accord  accompany  the  little  flock 
on  their  way  to  the  solitary  and  interesting  meetings  and 
then  sitting  down  with  them,  listen  with  solemn  atten- 
tion to  the  weighty  and  gracious  words  of  Christ  himself. 
Let  us  then  arise,  my  friends,  and  go  up  to  the  mount,  up 
where  every  better  emotion  brightens;  where  the  pulse 
of  spiritual  life  beats  higher,  and  where  the  bosom 
swells  and  heaves  as  though  it  wanted  to  drink  in  the 
whole  river  of  the  water  of  life.  O,  that  none  of  you 
might  now  remain  below  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
to  hear  and  see  nothing  but  the  thunderings  and  the 
lightnings  of  divine  justice  provoked,  and  the  shaking 
of  nature  before  him  to  whom  all  power  is  given  in 
heaven  and  on  earth. 

I.  Our  prilgrimage  to  the  mount  of  vision  is  our 
first  united  task.  But  whither?  into  a  mountain  in 
Galilee,  according  to  Matthew  xxvi,  32,  xxvi,  7,jl0,  16, 
and  other  passages.  But  into  which  mountain?  Scrip- 
ture is  silent  on  the  subject:  an  ancient  tradition,  ac- 
cording to  some  writers,  points  us  to  Tabor.  This  tra- 
dition appears  to  me  to  possess  a  high  degree  of  prob- 
ability. It  was  on  this  mountain,  according  to  the  in- 
variable testimony  of  antiquity,  that  Christ  was  trans- 
fiorured;  he  knew  it  as  a  convenient  and  safe  place  of 
retirement.  The  topographical  position  of  Tabor  was 
exceedingly  favorable  for  the  purpose  of  our  text.  Its 
distance  from  the  sea  of  Tiberias  is  but   eight  or  nine 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED   BRETHREN.       345 

miles,  equally  far  was  Nazareth  from  it.  Magdala,  the 
city  of  Mary  Magdalene,  was  at  the  same  distance. 
Even  Samaria  on  the  south-west,  and  Capernaum  on 
the  north-east,  were  but  twenty  miles  off.  It  was  on 
the  west  side  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  that  Christ  had 
already  appeared,  as  we  saw  in  our  last  discourse,  and 
thereabout  his  followers  must  have  been  gathered  in 
expectation  of  the  meeting.  The  peculiar  nature  of 
the  mountain  itself  was  perhaps  more  favorable  than 
that  of  any  other  in  Galilee.  Tabor  is  a  solitary  cone 
north-east  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  from  four  to  five 
hundred  fathoms  high,  with  a  platform  on  the  top, 
of  near  half  an  hour's  walk  in  circumference.  The 
sides  of  the  mountain,  composed  of  limestone,  were, 
and  still  are,  covered  with  a  forest  of  oaks.  In  less 
than  an  hour  its  summit  can  be  reached,  but  the  latter 
haif  of  the  journey  being  difficult  and  uncomfortable, 
the  top  of  Tabor  has  always  been  a  solitary  place.  In  the 
morning  the  summit  of  the  mountain  is  covered  with  a 
cloud,  which,  towards  noon,  passes  away  before  a  fresh 
breeze,  by  which  the  height  is  sometimes  rendered  un- 
pleasant that  part  of  the  day.  As  the  cloudy  covering  is 
rarified,  a  prospect  opens,  well  calculated  to  ex- 
pand the  bosom  of  man,  and  prepare  the  most  trembling 
heart  for  the  conception  of  great  resolutions  and  vast 
hopes.  On  the  south,  successive  vallies  and  hills  run 
down  as  far  as  the  grand  rock  of  Jerusalem.  On  the 
east,  proud  Jordan  meanders  with  royal  ease  along  the 
fertile  valley,  and  the  lake  of  Tiberias  reflects  the  can- 
opy of  heaven  with  its  passing  clouds.  Still  farther 
east,  the  vallies  of  Hauran  lie  spread  out;  and  on  the 
Borlh,  tower  the  Hasbeian  and  Casmian  mountains, 
.30 


346  MEDITATIONS. 

with  the  majestic  Lebanon  behind  them.  And  finally, 
on  the  west  the  fruitful  plains  of  Galilee  shade  away 
into  a  picture  more  and  more  delicate,  till  the  eye  can 
perceive  them  no  more.  Mountains  close  the  scenery, 
otherwise  the  Mediterranean  sea  might  be  seen.  And 
how  well  our  Lord  knew  to  make  nature  tributary  to 
his  holy  purposes,  I  need  not  prove;  and  why  should 
he  not  have  done  so  here.  I  need  only  add,  that  the 
season  of  the  year  as  well  as  a  multitude  of  other  cir- 
cumstances, arising  from  the  nature  of  the  spot  just 
described,  and  indeed  of  the  meeting  itself,  oblige  us 
to  suppose  that  the  journey  was  performed  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  night,  and  that  the  rising  sun  found 
them  all  assembled,  and  Christ  in  the  midst  of  them. 

But  let  us  anticipate  nothing.  We  are  in  Galilee 
still.  Mysteriously  surrounded  by  him,  whom  we  used 
to  see  in  mortal  flesh,  we  are  awaiting  among  the  rest 
of  his  disciples  the  coming  of  that  interesting  moment 
when  the  long  promised  meeting  on  yonder  solitary 
mountain,  shall  be  announced.  All  necessary  prepa- 
rations are  made,  all  minds  calmed,  settled,  solem- 
nized,—  every  carnal  expectation  hushed,  every  doubt 
dispelled;  the  time  is  come.  The  notice  is  given  in 
the  evening,  and  flies  from  heart  to  heart,  from  house 
to  house  on  the  wings  of  sacred  joy.  Angels  appear 
to  be  the  bearers  of  the  holy  errand;  for  it  moves  with 
the  swiftness  and  the  unfailing  certainty  of  lightning. 
The  midnight  breeze  wafts  the  glad  tidings  to  the 
dwelling-place  of  every  distant  believer,  not  one  ex- 
cepted. But  upon  the  enemies  a  deep  sleep  hath 
fallen  from  the  Lord,  and  not  one  of  them  apprehends 
the  approach  of  the  great  hour.     They  all  slumber  un- 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       347 

conscious;  no  mocker  annoys  the  harmless  pilgrims; 
no  cursing  or  trifling  wretch  disturbs  their  pious  con- 
versations and  the  psalms  they  sing  by  the  way;  no 
foe  obstructs  their  path;  no  spy  is  hid  on  the  mountain- 
top  to  mark  them  for  prison  and  slaughter. 

Like  scenes  are  acting  over  in  our  times;  and  they 
have  in  fact  always  occurred  since  the  meeting  in 
Galilee.  How  often  does  it  happen  that  God  puts  it 
into  the  hearts  of  some  despised  Galileans  or  Naza- 
renes  to  get  together  in  an  early  meeting  before  sun- 
rise, to  meet  the  Lord,  to  pray  together  to  him,  to 
meditate  upon  his  word  and  to  receive  his  command- 
ments. Thoughtless  men  either  know  nothing  at  all 
about  it,  or  they  smile  at  the  superstitious  notions  of 
these  singular  people.  It  is  a  matter  of  no  conse- 
quence with  them;  the  rearing  of  a  house,  the  pur- 
chase of  a  fashionable  toy,  the  lying  tales  of  the  day, 
and  every  other  like  folly  receives  incomparably  more 
attention  than  such  a  superstitious  prayer-meeting. 
And  then,  commercial  news,  literary  publications, 
political  phenomena, — who  would  ever  be  so  ridicu- 
lous as  to  degrade  them  to  a  comparison  with  the  des- 
picable season  of  an  early  social  devotion  to  which 
none  of  the  "wise  men  after  the  flesh,"  none  of  "the 
mighty,"  none  of  "the  noble"  are  called.  But  sooner 
or  later,  the  consequences  of  such  a  despised  prayer- 
meeting  are  felt;  and  many  a  sleeper  who  mocked  or 
cursed  them  in  his  heart  while  stretched  on  his  couch, 
can  all  the  night  through  get  neither  sleep  to  his  eyes 
nor  slumber  to  his  eyelids;  for  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
descended,  and  conviction  has  fastened  upon  him,  re- 
sistlessly,  till  he  cries  for  mercy  and  submits.     And  in 


348  MEDITATIONS. 

another  house  or  palace,  you  find,  perhaps,  the  unre- 
claimed rebel  sealed  to  destruction.  Ahab  or  Julian 
stretched  on  his  bier,  or  Saul  struck  with  madness,  or 
Herod  writhing  under  the  gnawing  of  the  undying 
worm,  or  Voltaire  or  Francis  Newport  breathing  out 
with  their  last  curse  their  despairing  souls,  doomed  to 
hell  fire.  Two  or  three  praying  Christians  assembled 
can  open  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  bring  down  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  where  he  comes,  there  are  "  voices,  and 
thunderings  and  lightnings  and  an  earthquake;"  there 
is  judgment  held,  eternal  destinies  are  settled,  eternal 
interests  gained  or  lost,  and  souls  sealed  for  heaven 
and  put  forever  beyond  the  subtlety  and  power  of 
earth  and  hell,  or  sealed  for  destruction  and  given  up 
to  reprobation  and  damnation  irrecoverable,  "  hopeless 
as  the  decisions  of  eternity  and  the  revei*sion  of  doom.'* 
And  you  may  believe  this  or  not;  this  does  not  change 
the  case:  eternity  will  reveal  it  ere  long.  Look  at 
the  christian  institutions  of  the  day:  may  God  keep 
us  humble  and  contrite  while  we  ask.  Are  not  Bible, 
missionary,  tract,  temperance  and  many  other  so- 
cieties on  either  continent,  the  fruits,  the  consequences 
of  such  meetings?  Do  they  not  now,  as  it  were,  live 
by  them.''  Reasoning  from  what  they  have  done,  tell 
me  whether  they  will  not  ultimately  change  the  moral 
aspect  of  this  entire  world,  and  whether  kings,  or  wise 
or  mighty  men  will  be  able  to  resist  them.''  Be  careful 
and  despise  not  a  couple  of  ignorant  praying  Christians 
nor  dare  to  slumber  while  they  pray!  They  are  hand- 
ling the  undying  spark  from  the  altar  in  heaven;  if 
they  cast  it  into  the  mine,  there  is  no  telling  where 
the  resistless  explosion  will  stop. 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       349 

But  we  lose  sight  of  our  travellers.  It  is  again 
about  full  moon,  and  the  nights  are  cool  and  delightful. 
During  the  night,  our  pilgrims  started;  and  as  the 
morning  dawns  they  ascend  in  small  companies  on 
every  side  of  the  mountain.  1  here  were  the  eleven 
disciples,  all  the  believing  relatives  of  our  Lord,  Laz- 
arus and  his  sisters,  Joseph  of  Arimathea  and  Nico- 
demus,  a  number  of  converted  Samaritans,  Roman 
officers,  Greek  proselytes,  and  man/  from  the  various 
surrounding  countries  whom  Christ  had  healed  and 
who  believed  on  him. 

As  they  mount  up  beyond  the  inhabited  base  of  the 
mountain,  the  region  becomes  more  and  more  still  and 
devotional.  All  nature  seems  to  rest  in  contemplation 
and  to  be  preparing  to  meet  the  rising  sun,  her  king, 
adorned  with  the  jewelry  of  a  rich,  refreshing  dew. 
By  and  by,  the  lively  quail  begins,  in  the  deep  clefts  of 
the  high  lime-rock,  to  call  herlittle  neighbors  to  devotion 
and  labor.  A  solitary  lark  or  two  are  already  warbling 
in  the  air  hovering  about  the  mountain-top.  The 
wakeful  birds  here  and  there  prepare  their  voices  for 
the  morning  hymn,  and  the  stork  on  the  inaccessible 
peak  bestirs  herself  to  guide  the  concert.  There  is 
much  of  sacred  beauty  in  simple  nature,  and  happy  the 
man  who  can  walk  abroad  alone  and  open  his  heart 
wide,  that  God  may  fill  it  with  all  the  wonder,  delight 
and  praise  for  which  his  perfect  and  mighty  works  call 
so  mightily.  Our  pilgrims  arrive  on  the  summit, 
issuing,  about  sunrise,  from  different  points  of  the  for- 
est. Could  I  but  describe  to  you  now  their  meeting, 
their  salutations,  their  joy,  their  love!  But  I  cannot. 
No  doubt  many  were  delightfully  surprised,  too,  to 
30* 


350  5IEDITAT10NS. 

'see  a  friend,  a  brother,  a  sister,  an  aged  father,  a  def- 
creped  mother,  unexpectedly  in  the  pious  circle.  Why! 
are  you  here  also?  I  thought  you  were  a  mortal  enemy 
to  our  heavenly  Lord,  and  to  all  his  people.  What 
brought  you  here,  I  pray  ?  A  mute  embrace,  a  blush, 
a  trickling  tear  were  the  answer.  But  what  surprised 
all  of  them  most,  was,  no  doubt,  the  large  number  that 
came  together.  But  a  few  weeks  after  our  Lord's  ig- 
noriiinlous  death,  after  a  few  appearances,  before  the 
Pentecost-day  even,  "  More  than  five  hundred  breth- 
ren!" Oh,  the  power  of  divine  grace!  Oh,  the  re- 
sistless charms  of  the  cross!  There  are  some  here 
who  know  what  such  a  meeting  means.  It  is  a  fore- 
taste of  heaven,  and  cannot  be  described. 

They  are  assembled,  they  are  gathered  close  to- 
gether, they  are  yet  pressing  each  other^s  hands  when 
the  Lord  appears!  This  was  the  interesting  moment, 
the  meridian  height  of  the  scene.  An  awful  silence 
ensued.  Love  and  reverence  bow  them  to  the  dust; 
they  surround  him,  some  kneeling,  some  lying  on  their 
faces,  some  looking  up  to  him  with  mingled  rapture 
and  self-abasement.  It  is  a  scene  of  holy  and  over- 
whelming interest.  They  know  not  what  they  are 
doing.  But  there  was  so  much  of  the  heavenly,  of  the 
angelic  and  the  divine  in  his  appearance,  that  they  ex- 
perience something  of  that  prostration  of  nature  which 
always  attended  the  special  divine  presence  through 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  "  And  when  they  saw 
him,"  says  Matthew,  "  they  worshipped  him"  pros- 
trate, "  but  some  doubted."  And  here  it  is  where 
another  interesting  portion  of  holy  writ  gives  and  re- 
ceives light   and  significancy  as  we  shall  briefly  show. 


jVieet1i\<;  of  the  five  hundred  brethren.     o5i 

The  evangelists,  (Matthew  xvii.,  Mark  ix.  and  Luke 
ix.)  state  that  during  the  second  year  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  he  once  took  with  him  Peter,  John  and 
James  up  into  a  high  mountain.  There  Moses  and 
Elijah  appeared ;  our  Lord's  whole  aspect  was  changed 
and  glorified;  a  voice  from  heaven  was  heard  de- 
clarinor  him  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
The  disciples  were  prostrated  and  overcome  hy  the 
scene  till  it  was  over,  till  Moses  and  Elijah  disappeared 
again,  and  Christ  resumed  his  usual  appearance  and 
spake  to  them  in  the  same  kind  and  familiar  manner 
as  before.  On  descending  from  the  mountain,  "he 
charged  them  that  they  should  tell  no  man  what  things 
they  had  seen,  till  the  vSon  of  Man  were  risen  from  the 
dead."  Why  they  should  tell  it  then,  was  dark  to 
them.  They  of  course  obeyed,  and  kept  the  facts  in 
their  minds  as  a  mysterious  thing  to  which  futurity 
was  to  give  them  the  key.  This  key  was  given  to 
them  in  the  occurrence  of  the  morning  of  which  we 
now  speak.  The  appearance  of  Christ  was  so  heaven- 
ly as  to  prostrate  the  whole  assembly.  Trembling  na- 
ture testified  that  God  was  present.  But  was  this  God 
Jesus  of  JVazareth?  Was  the  personage  they  saw,  their 
beloved  master.''  They  had  never  seen  him  thus,  not 
even  after  his  resurrection;  perhaps  not  even  the 
eleven  had  seen  him  thus.  No  wonder  that  some  of 
the  assembly  doubted.  And  thus  the  moment  had 
come  when  Peter,  James  and  John  could  arise  and 
testify,  "Yes,  brethren,  it  is  Him  you  see.  We  have 
seen  him  so  before.  A  year  ago  and  on  this  very  spot 
(for  it  was  probably  the  same)  we  saw  him  so,  and  his 
appearance  was  no  less  superior,  no  less  awful  then, 


3^2  MEDITATIONS. 

than  it  is  now,  nor  was  our  amazement  and  terror  less 
great  than  yours  is  at  this  moment.  Let  us,  therefore, 
dismiss  every  other  thought  and  listen  to  what  our 
Lord  has  to  say."  "Lord,  speak,  for  thy  servants 
hear,"  was  the  universal  voice,  and  this  brings  us  to 
the  second  part  of  our  meditation. 

II.  Having  already  consumed  so  much  time  in  the 
first  part  of  my  discourse,  I  am  compelled  to  study 
brevity,  though  there  is  a  world  of  matter  before  me 
now. 

There  is  a  seeming  contradiction  in  the  story  of  our 
text  which  we  must  first  remove.  In  introducing  us  to 
this  scene,  Matthew  mentions  the  eleven  alone,  and 
Mark  refers  to  them  and  to  them  only.  The  words  of 
Christ,  on  the  other  hand,  are  evidently  not  to  be  lim- 
ited to  them.  Those  in  which  miraculous  powers  are 
promised  were  common  to  many  other  believers  in  the 
apostolic  age,  and  are  confined  only  to  a  certain  pe- 
riod, but  not  to  certain  persons;  and  those  words 
which  contain  the  command  of  preaching  the  gospel  to 
the  entire  world,  and  the  promise  of  his  presence  to 
the  end  of  time,  evidently  point  to  the  church  of  Christ 
in  every  age.  The  solution  is,  that  the  eleven  are  thus 
particularly  mentioned,  because  they  were  promi- 
nently, though  not  exclusively,  addressed.  By  doing 
this,  Christ  established  or  confirmed  their  apostolic 
character  before  all  the  assembly,  and  settled  forever 
who  were  to  be  the  ultimate  authority  in  the  church. 
This  circumstance  accounts  at  once  for  the  fact,  that 
none  of  the  converted  relatives  of  Christ,  none  of  the 
converted  priests  or  pharisees,  none  of  those  believers 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED   BRETHREN.       S&S 

even  who  themselves  wrought  miracles,  ever  so  much 
as  attempted  to  become  the  infallible  leaders  of  the 
church,  or  to  vie  with  the  eleven  in  authority;  but 
willingly  and  faithfully  followed  their  directions,  what- 
soever they  were. 

But  let  us  hear  what  he  says.  The  assertion  of  his 
own  character,  the  great  duty  and  the  great  privilege 
of  the  church;  this  is  the  three-fold  point  of  view 
under  which   his  weighty  address  will  best  be  ranked. 

"  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."  All  depends  here  upon  the  question,  What  is 
the  meaning  of  "  heaven  and  earth,"  in  the  language 
of  Scripture.  We  are,  doubtless,  not  to  give  it  a 
meaning  foreign  to  Scripture  usage,  unless  we  mean 
to  handle  the  word  of  God  deceitfully.  A  few  passages 
will  put  this  subject  beyond  every  candid  or  reasonable 
doubt. 

It  means  the  visible  creation  without  any  limitation 
whatsoever.  "  Jn  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth."  Genesis  i.  1.  Here  heaven 
and  earth  are  the  universe  most  plainly:  heaven  in- 
cludes the  stars,  Stc,  all  the  systems  of  heavenly 
bodies  visible  to  us;  '*  Let  there  be  stars  in  the  firma- 
ment of  heaven."  Genesis  i.  14.  "Thus  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  hosts  of  them. 
Genesis  ii.  1.  "The  most  high  God,  possessor  of 
heaven  and  earth."  Genesis  xiv.  19.  22.  "  Till  hea- 
ven and  earth  pass  away,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in 
nowise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled."  Mat- 
thew V.  18.  "  The  Lord  (Jehovah)  who  made  hea- 
ven and  earth."  Psalms  cxv.  cxxi.  cxxiv,  cxxxiv. 
cxlvi,     Isaiah  xxxvii.     Jeremiah  xxxii.     Acts  iv.  and 


354  MEDITATIONS. 

in  other  places.  The  same  sense  it  has  in  a  multitude 
of  passages,  as  every  child  knows.  Again,  it  means 
the  habitations  of  the  moral  and  intelligent  beings  in 
this  and  in  the  spiritual  world.  "He  doeth  according 
to  his  will  in  the  army  of  heaven  (angels  and  saints) 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  earth."  Daniel  iv.  15. 
'*  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth,  for  Jehovah 
speaketh."  Isaiah  i.  2.  Here  the  universe  is  ad- 
dressed, but  with  special  regard  to  the  intelligent  in- 
habitants of  either  world.  "Let  heaven  and  earth 
praise  him."  Psalms  Ixix.  34.  Heaven  is  the  spirit- 
ual world  conceived  of  under  the  category  of  place. 
*'He  (God)  will  hear  from  his  holy  heaven;"  (Psalms 
XX.  6.)  i.  e.  from  the  world  of  spirits  where  he  emi- 
nently dwells,  being  a  spirit.  *'  Heaven  is  my  throne 
and  earth  my  footstool."  Isaiah  Ixvi.  1.  "Do  I  not 
fill  heaven  and  earth?  says  Jehovah."  Jeremiah  xxiii. 
24.  Angels  always  come  down  from  heaven;  the  uni- 
versality of  Jehovah's  reign  is  therefore  expressed 
thus:  "Thou  art  God  of  all  kingdoms,  thou  hast  made 
heaven  and  earth."  2  Kings  xix.  15.  2  Chronicles 
ii.  12.  Nehemiah  ix.  6.  And  his  supreme  greatness, 
too  high  to  be  reached  by  finite  beings.  "  He  is  high 
as  heaven;  what  canst  thou  do?"  But  I  must  desist. 
Passages  of  this  kind  are  too  many  and  too  familiar  to 
make  it  necessary  to  cite  more.  To  say  that  heaven 
means  the  church,  and  earth  the  wicked  world,  or 
that  heaven  is  the  church  in  the  other  world,  and  earth 
the  church  in  this,  and  the  like  pitiful  contrivances  to 
escape  the  influence  of  an  unwelcome  truth,  is  a 
forlorn  endeavor.  An  unqualified  denial  is  all  I  have 
for  them.      Until  those  men  who  want  to  impose  such 


MEETING  OP  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       S55 

perversions  upon  us  bring  me  one  good  passage  in 
proof  of  what  they  say,  I  should  consider  it  a  loss  of 
time  and  character  to  refute  them."  No!  this  is  my 
only  argument,  until  I  see  more  than  great  swelling 
words,  and  wholesale  assertions  without  proof. 

"All  power,"  etc.  etc.  Do  you  know  now  what 
this  means.''  Do  you  make  it  less  than  omnipotence? 
If  so,  let  us  see  your  proofs;  and  if  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation  you  find  a  passage  fit  for  your  purpose, 
you  are  the  first  who  ever  found  it,  and  I  give  up  my 
argument  at  once.  Omnipotence,  then,  is  its  import. 
But  that  omnipotence  is  an  absolutely  divine  attribute, 
and  that  one  divine  attribute  cannot  exist  in  a  being 
without  all  the  others,  and  that  the  being  who  pos- 
sesses them  is  God — to  deduce  and  prove  all  this, 
falls  into  the  department  of  philosophy,  and  can 
be  carried  through  triumphantly.  But  I  waive  this 
here,  because  it  does  not  enter  necessarily  into  my 
purpose. 

You  remember  what  I  said  respecting  the  exalted 
appearance  of  Christ,  and  now  how  these  mighty  words 
will  correspond  with  it,  is  too  plain  to  escape  your 
notice;  but  what  follows  corresponds  no  less  with  it. 
An  assertion  of  extensive  import  he  has  made  respect- 
ing himself,  a  commission  of  immense  extent  follows. 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature."  Salvation  or  ruin  shall  be  the  una- 
voidable alternative  attending  your  administration. 
Baptize  them  and  teach  them  to  observe  all  which  I 
commanded  you.  Convert  the  whole  world!  Truly  a 
commission  which  needed  to  be  supported  by  the  om- 
^nipotence  of  him  who  gave  it.     To  any  other  one  than 


S5G  MEDITATIONS. 

an  omnipotent  being  reasonable  men  would  have  an 
swered,  and  rightly,  Are  you  beside  yourself,  or  do 
you  think  that  we  are  so,  to  give  us  such  a  ridiculous 
charge  as  this?  Who  will  go  over  the  world  and 
change  the  hearts  of  selfish  men  to  the  love  and  per- 
formance of  precepts  as  spiritual  and  self-denying  as 
those  which  we  are  to  teach  them.  Has  ever  a  sober, 
thinking  man,  has  ever  any  philosopher  thought  of 
such  a  thing?  Yea,  has  ever  any  dreaming  theorist 
been  extravagant  enough  to  think  of  it?  Has  Pythag- 
oras, Socrates  or  Plato,  or  Confucius  been  bold 
enough  to  think  of  a  scheme  like  this?  You  say  they 
were  not  enlarged  enough  for  the  conception;  they 
were  uncommissioned  of  heaven.  Be  it  so.  Has  ever 
Moses  thought  or  talked  of  such  a  work?  Never. 
The  prophets  indeed  speak,  and  with  transcending 
beauty  to  be  sure,  of  a  golden  age  of  the  world,  but 
they  merely  speak  of  it,  and  none  of  them  has  ever  en- 
tertained the  extravagant  notion  of  carrying  it  into  ex- 
ecution, and  that  by  a  handful  of  ignorant  and  despised 
men  as  we  are?  Never,  never!  we  shall  not — we 
cannot  comply.  Thus  they  might  have  said,  had  the 
charge  come  from  a  mere  man.  But  this  is  not  the 
case.  The  charge  came  from  one  who  takes  no  refu- 
sal, and  who  can  and  does  give  with  the  command  the 
ability  to  perform  it,  though  it  be  to  create  worlds. 
*'  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth," 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature."  Ah,  to  be  sure,  this  harmonizes 
well;  and  the  retrospect  of  1800  years,  and  especially 
the  short  but  rich  and  wonderful  history  of  evangelical 
missions  —  (may   God  take  all   the   glory  to    himself  J) 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       357 

these  are  commenlaries   upon  the  texts   quoted,  which 
outstrip  the  boldest  flight  of  fancy. 

"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Oospel  to 
every  creature."  You  see  the  extent  and  beauty  of 
the  commission.  It  is  a  soul-stirring  conception  broad 
as  the  universe,  deep  as  the  fathomless  ocean,  delight- 
ful as  the  untarnished  bow  of  mercy  in  the  summer 
cloud.  Tell  me  no  more  of  the  gigantic  greatness  of 
ancient  times  and  generations.  I  know  they  were 
gigantic,  while  the  self-conceited  vulgar  of  these  days 
"of  small  things,"  have  dwindled  into  dwarfs,  I 
know  there  is  no  Alexander,  no  Sesostris  among  your 
crowned  conquerors,  and  their  cabinets  are  chess-^ 
boards,  where  cunning,  not  wisdom,  is  displayed. 
Our  poets,  alas,  make  rhymes  to  get  bread,  and  our 
philosophers  are  full  of  themselves,  and  void  of  God 
and  divine  thing^s.  I  know  that  among  our  poets  are 
no  Homers,  among  our  philosophers  there  is  no  Soc- 
rates, and  among  our  lawyers  no  Demosthenes.  I 
can  well  remember  the  story  of  the  gigantic  tower  of 
Niilirod,  whose  remains  have  outlived  4000  years;  I 
too  have  read  of  the  Rhodian  image,  of  Diana's  tem- 
ples, of  cities  with  an  hundred  gates;  of  catacombs 
and  pyramids,  and  of  the  excavated  mountains  of  India, 
before  which  our  enlightened  age  stands  in  silent 
wonder.  These  efforts  betray  vast  conceptions,  no 
doubt,  and  the  men  who  made  them  knew  how  to 
calculate  on  a  bold  scale,  and  then  to  set  about  their 
work  with  an  earnestness  that  deserves  high  credit 
while  the  earth  shall  stand.  It  is  indeed  grand  to 
think  what  notions  the  head  of  man  can  give  birth 
to,  and  what  his  hands  can  mould,  frame,  or  rear. 
31 


358  MEDITATIONS. 

But  his  mastery  over  brute  force  or  mechanical  power 
is  after  ail  but  a  fraction  of  his  native  excellency  and 
inferior  in  kind;  and  the  pride  of  tyranny  which 
prompted  all  the  great  efforts  of  antiquity,  and  the 
filth  of  immorality,  and  the  superstition  which  cling  to 
their  productions  of  art  and  to  their  nervous  writings, 
are  matters  of  deep  sorrow  to  the  lover  of  mankind, 
and  forbid  his  desire  to  roll  back  gone-by  centuries; 
and,  blessed  be  God,  he  need  not  roll  them  back. 
Why  should  he?  Do  you  desire  to  be  engaged  in  a 
great  work?  here  is  the  greatest  work  the  world 
ever  saw, — the  illumination  and  salvation  of  a  world! 
Do  you  want  vastness?  here  it  is.  It  could  not  be 
vaster.  Do  you  want  intellectuality?  here  it  is;  it 
could  not  be  more  intellectual.  Do  you  want  useful- 
ness? here  is  usefulness  in  its  perfection.  Do  you 
want  what  the  admired  works  of  antiquity  lack — sim- 
plicity, philanthropy,  moral  beauty,  heavenly  temper, 
godlike  fruits  to  others  and  the  noblest  conceivable  self- 
reward,  i.  e.  reward  undeserved  and  unsought,  most 
freely  bestowed,  yet  surer  than  the  rising  of  the  sun, 
most  honorable  both  to  the  giver  and  to  the  receiver? 
here,  here  they  are,  all  bound  up  indissolubly  in  the 
great  commission  which  Christ  gave  to  his  little  flock 
on  the  solitary  mountain  in  Galilee,  when  he  said, 
''  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth," 
*'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature."  But,  my  friends,  this  is  a  suitable 
place  for  you  to  stop,  and  to  ask  yourselves,  one  by 
one  here.  What  am  I  engaged  in?  Am  I  engaged  in 
this  great  work?  I  need  not  be  a  minister,  or  mis- 
sionary for  that.     Do  I  possess  the  kingdom  of  God  in 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED  BRETHREN.       359 

myself,  and  do  I  promote  it  in  the  world  as  I  walk 
along  in  the  path  of  my  duty?  Perhaps  you  say,  I  am 
but  an  insignificant  individual  —  what  can  I  alone  do? 
Who  wants  you  to  do  something  alone?  I,  too,  am 
but  small;  but  if  I  must  be  a  drop,  I  will  be  a  drop  in 
the  ocean  of  God's  universal  kingdom,  and  not  in  the 
filthy  puddle  of  this  world.  Oh,  my  friends,  what  are 
you  about;  your  souls  are  indeed  drops  fallen  from  the 
clouds  of  heaven;  shall  they  die  in  the  stagnant  pool 
of  selfishness  and  moral  pollution,  or  in  uninterested 
sloth  and  thoughtlessness?  or  shall  they  swell  the 
tide  of  Ezekiel's  river  rolling  over  this  world  with 
healing  power?  Ah!  think  —  make  up  your  mind  —  life 
and  death  are  before  you,  and  life  and  death  only.  A 
third  choice  you  have  not.  It  is  no  pleasure  to  perish 
in  company. 

But  we  hasten  to  the  close.  The  great  privilege  of 
the  church  is  the  legacy  of  the  continual  presence  of 
her  Almighty  Lord  and  Head.  The  first  part  of 
Christ's  promises,  awarding  to  some  the  gift  of  mir- 
acles, is  best  commented  upon  by  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  and  the  authentic  history  of  the  church.  It  re- 
lated to  those  to  whom  afterwards  that  talent  was  com- 
mitted and  to  none  else.  Its  purpose  was  to  put  the 
seal  of  heaven  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel;  that 
seal  was  put  on,  and  the  history  of  sacred  and  profane 
history  on  the  subject  furnishes  us  with  materials  for  a 
rational  conclusion,  equally  good  and  imperious  with  the 
evidence  of  our  own  senses.  Every  sober,  well-trained 
reasoner  knows  this.  But  the  second  part  of  the 
promise,  being  of  equal  extent  with  the  command  just 
noticed,  has  the  same  immediate  practical   interest  to 


360  MEDITATIONS. 

every  true  believer  under  heaven,  till  the  Son  of  Man 
shall  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father. 

"  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world,"  I  am  fully  aware,  and  I  willingly  grant, 
that  there  is  a  mental  presence  in  some  place  remote 
from  us,  which  may  be  predicated  of  any  man.  Says 
Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  "For  I  verily,  as  absent  in 
the  body,  but  present  in  spirit,  have  judged  already  as 
though  I  were  present,  concerning  him  that  hath  so 
done  this  deed."  This  is  a  presence  in  imagination 
most  clearly,  the  apostle  imagining  himself  in  the 
midst  of  the  church  of  Corinth  to  excommunicate  a 
young  man  who  was  guilty  of  gross  misconduct.  So 
he  says  to  the  Colossians,  (ii.  5.)  "  for  though  I  be 
absent  in  the  flesh,  yet  am  I  with  you  in  the  spirit, 
joying  and  beholding  your  order,  and  the  steadfastness 
of  your  faith  in  Christ."  Nobody  has  ever  inferred 
from  these  passages  that  Paul  was  omnipresent;  for 
ihoy  are  given  in  such  a  connection  as  to  prevent 
every  mistake,  and  to  show  that  they  are  to  be  taken 
in  the  same  sense  in  which  we  say.  Distance  does  not 
separate  true  friends;  We  are  daily  among  our  beloved 
in  lands  remote,  etc.  Another  presence  is  the  pro- 
phetic one  in  a  vision.  When  Gehazi  run  after  Na- 
aman  whom  Elisha  had  healed  from  leprosy  without 
taking  any  reward  of  him,  and  when  he  took  money 
and  raiment  from  the  Syrian,  and  hid  it,  and  then  came 
before  his  master,  prepared  to  play  the  hypocrite  and 
the  liar,  his  master  said  to  him,  "  Went  not  mine  heart 
with  thee  when  the  man  turned  again  from  his  chariot 
to  meet  thee?  Is  this  a  time  to  receive  money,  and  to 
receive   garments,  and    oliveyards  and  vineyards,  and 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED   BRETHREN.       361 

sheep  and  oxen,  and  men-servants  and  maid-servants? 
The  leprosy  therefore  of  Naaman  shall  cleave  unto 
thee  and  unto  thy  seed  forever."  This  was  a  presence 
in  the  prophetic  vision,  and  nobody  ever  fell  into  the 
mistake  of  supposing  Elisha  present  everywhere  on 
earth,  and  at  all  times  till  the  world  shall  end. 

A  widely  different  impression  is  made  by  those  pas- 
sages of  the  kind  when  Jehovah  is  the  subject.  Ex- 
odus iii.  12,  Jehovah  says  to  Moses,  "Certainly  I  will 
be  with  thee,"  i.  e.  in  the  whole  work  of  Israel's  de- 
liverance from  the  Egyptian  bondage.  Deuteronomy 
xxxi.  6,  8,  Moses  says  to  Joshua,  "Be  strong  and  of 
good  courage.  Fear  not,  nor  be  afraid  of  them.  For 
Jehovah  thy  God,  he  it  is  that  doth  go  with  thee  ;  he 
will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake  thee."  Joshua  i.  5,  Jeho- 
vah himself  says  to  Joshua,  *'  As  I  was  with  Moses,  so 
will  I  be  with  thee;  I  will  not  fail  thee  nor  forsake 
thee."  "Be  not  afraid,"  this  is  the  divine  promise  to 
Jeremiah  (i.  8.)  "be  not  afraid  of  their  faces,  for  I  am 
with  thee  to  deliver  thee,  saith  Jehovah.  Similar  is 
the  promise  of  Christ  to  Paul  on  the  road  to  Damas- 
cus. "  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest."  Arise! 
I  have  appeared  unto  thee  to  make  thee  a  minister 
and  apostle  both  of  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen, 
and  of  those  thou  shalt  yet  experience.  And  I  will 
deliver  thee  from  the  people  and  the  nations  unto 
whom  now  I  send  thee,  etc.  All  these  promises  be- 
speak a  presence  widely  differing  from  that  of  Paul 
among  the  Corinthians  and  Colossians  in  the  passages 
referred  to,  or  of  Elisha  with  his  servant  Gehazi.  But 
by  far  the  most  emphatic  and  extensive  one  of  the  kind 
is  the  promise  of  Christ  before  us:  "  Lo,  I  am  with 
31* 


362  MEDITATIONS. 

you  every  day,  or  all  the  days,  (nixaag  tag  jy^rj^ac)  to 
the  very  consummation  of  time,  (ewe  tt/?  owrsKsvag  rov 
aimog.)  And  now  add  to  this,  that  he  who  gave  the 
promise  implying  omnipresence,  had  professed  with  the 
same  breath  to  be  omnipotent,  and  that  with  the  same 
breath  he  had  given  a  charge  to  his  disciples  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  man,  woman  and  child:  a  charge 
which  runs  down  to  the  end  of  time,  and  which  pre- 
sented difficulties  altogether  unconquerable  by  flesh 
and  blood,  —  and  then  say,  whether  this  promise, 
which  must  correspond  to  the  profession  and  the 
charge  preceding,  is  not  the  grandest  and  weightiest 
of  this  kind  on  all  the  pages  of  the  sacred  records, 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation. 

I  close  unwillingly  and  reluctantly.  I  would  I  had 
another  hour,  at  least,  for  practical  remarks,  both  to 
the  professed  friends  of  Christ  and  to  those  who  aim  at 
a  ruinous  neutrality. 

The  object  of  our  Lord  in  this  remarkable  assembly 
was  now  obtained.  All  his  people  knew  who  he  was, 
their  great  duty  in  his  service,  their  debt  of  love;  their 
relation  to  the  world  was  clear  to  them,  and  all  that 
was  cheering  and  quickening  was  richly  given  to  them 
in  the  great  promise.  The  character  of  the  apostles 
was  established,  and  that  church  was  organized  which 
will  prove  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth,  which  the  gates 
of  hell  will  not  overcome,  and  which  will  stand  til! 
eternity  shall  be  no  more. 

All  flesh  is  grass,  and  the  hypocrite  is  lighter  than 
vanity,  and  is  as  nothing.  But  before  the  true  believer 
let  the  kings  of  the  earth  tremble,  and  the  wise  stop 
their  mouths,  for  the  Lord  Almighty  is  about  him,  and 


MEETING  OF  THE  FIVE  HUNDRED   BRETHREN.       363 

will  plead  his  cause.  Let  the  sincere  Christian  re- 
member that  he  is  never  alone,  but  that  the  Mahanaim 
of  the  Almighty  are  his  van  and  his  rearward  and  sur- 
round him  on  the  right  and  on  the  left.  But  this  also 
is  never  to  be  forgotten,  viz.  that  the  presence  of  God 
is  attached  to  the  work  of  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to 
the  perishing  world  whose  messenger  of  peace  the 
Christian  is  charged  to  be,  and  that  whenever  he  pre- 
sumes to  seek  his  own,  the  impenetrable  shield  of  his 
protection  is  gone,  and  the  fiery  darts  of  Satan  may 
pierce  his  heart  and  make  a  corpse  of  him  ready  to  be 
buried  in  hell. 

Here  is  the  secret  unfolded  why  the  church  has 
been  so  lean  at  different  times.  She  forgot  and  for- 
sook her  work,  and  Christ  forsook  her.  But  the  time 
is  at  hand  when  she  will  rise  in  the  fullness  of  her 
strength,  and  sound  the  trumpet  of  the  gospel  to  make 
the  earth  tremble,  and  the  heavens  resound.  Then 
shall  the  omnipotent  arm  of  her  Lord  be  made  bare, 
terror  shall  overwhelm  the  persevering  rebel,  and  the 
glory  of  God  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  fill  the 
sea.     Amen. 


MEDITATIONS. 


XVI. 


THE  ASCENSION  OF  OUR  LORD. 


ACTS  I,  4-11;  LUKE  XXIV,  59—52;  MARK,  XVI,  19. 

And  being  assembled  together  with  them,  commanded  them  that  they  should 
not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  which,  saith 
he,  ye  have  heard  of  me.  For  John  truly  baptized  with  water  ;  but  ye  shall  be 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence.  When  they  therefore  were 
come  together,  they  asked  him,  saying.  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again 
the  kingdom  of  Israel .''  And  he  said  unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the 
times  or  the  seasons  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own  power.  But  ye  shall 
receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  wit- 
nesses unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they 
beheld,  he  was  taken  up  ;  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  And 
while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven,  as  he  went  up,  behold,  two  men 
stood  by  them  in  white  apparel  ;  which  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand 
ye  gazing  up  into  heaven.''  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from  you  into 
heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven. 

And  behold,  1  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you:  but  tarry  ye  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high.  And  he  led 
them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany  ;  and  he  lifted  up  his  hands,  and  blessed  them. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  while  he  blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from  them  and  carried 
up  into  heaven.  And  they  worshipped  him,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem  with 
great  joy. 

So  then,  after  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto  them,  he  was  received  up  into  heaven, 
and  sat  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 


366  MEDITATIONS. 

Once  more  I  must  call  upon  my  hearers  to  accom- 
pany me  in  my  wanderings  through  Judea  and  Galilee, 
while  I  endeavor  to  follow  Christ  and  his  little  flock. 
With  the  close  of  this  meditation  1  shall  dismiss  a  sub- 
ject which  I  have  pursued  for  more  than  a  year,  though 
not  without  considerable  interruption. 

Near  forty  days  were  now  past  since  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  from  the  dead.  He  had  "showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infallible 
proofs,"  and  was  seen  repeatedly  by  many  under  divers 
circumstances  and  for  purposes  most  worthy  of  his 
pursuit.  All  was  now  accomplished.  The  church  of 
Christ  was  organized,  the  apostles  commissioned,  di- 
rections, promises  and  everything  needful  for  the 
present  given.  The  Holy  Spirit  himself  could  not  be 
communicated  till  Christ  was  exalted  and  glorified.  If 
you  ask  why  not,  I  shall  send  you  with  your  question 
to  him  who  giveth  no  account  of  any  of  his  matters; 
though  to  Christians  it  ought  to  be  clear  that  while 
Christ  himself  was  bodily  present,  that  Spirit  who  was 
to  remind  the  disciples  of  their  Lord's  instructions 
and  who  was  to  take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show 
them  unto  them,  was  not  called  for.  Christ,  then, 
was  to  be  exalted  and  glorified  to  send  down  the 
promise  of  his  father.  With  this  event  his  earthly 
career  and  our  subject  closes,  though  his  activity  does 
in  fact  eminently  begin  there. 

Jerusalem,  and  especially  the  mount  of  Olives,  which 
had  seen  him  in  his  deepest  humiliation,  were  to  see 
him  also  in  his  highest  exaltation.  Thence  he  was  to 
ascend  up  to  heaven.  It  was  very  convenient  for  his 
purpose  that  Pentecost  was  now  near,  one  of  the  three 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    OUR    LORD.  367 

great  festivals  when  all  males  were  to  appear  at  Jeru- 
salem. The  celebration  of  it  fell  upon  the  fiftieth  day 
after  Passover,  or  Easter,  and  it  needed  but  a  hint 
from  our  Lord,  to  induce  the  disciples  to  set  out  a 
little  sooner.  This  course  was  evidently  in  the  highest 
degree  important.  On  the  preceding  great  festival, 
when  thousands  of  people  were  assembled  at  Jerusa- 
lem, Christ  was  condemned  and  murdered;  and  when 
he  rose,  lies  were  scattered  among  the  multitude,  say- 
ing, that  he  was  nevertheless  dead,  but  that  his  corpse 
was  stolen  and  carried  away.  On  the  succeeding 
great  festival,  the  operations  of  his  Spirit  were  to  be 
seen  by  the  same  congregation  of  strangers,  and  the 
truth  was  to  be  proclaimed  to  those  upon  whom  outra- 
geous and  inconsistent  falsehood  had  been  imposed 
not  many  weeks  ago.  This  was  decreed  in  the  court 
of  heaven.  But  if  this  was  to  be  accomplished,  Christ 
must  first  return  to  his  heavenly  home  and  his  throne, 
and,  as  I  remarked,  the  mount  of  Olives  was  to  be  the 
scene  of  the  important  event. 

The  appearance  of  Christ  to  James,  his  relative  and 
afterwards  bishop  of  the  churxjh  at  Jerusalem,  took 
place,  according  to  Paul,  (1  Corinthians  xv.  7)  after 
the  meeting  of  the  five  hundred  brethren,  but  probably 
before  the  last  interview  at  Jerusalem.  As  no  partic- 
lars  are  known  on  that  subject,  we  omit  it.  It  was  prob- 
bly  in  reference  to  his  future  office  in  the  church  that 
Christ  had  to  give  James  some  special  directions,  the 
details  of  which  were  important  only  to  him. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  eleven  disciples  and 
several  other  members  of  the  young  Christian  church, 
went  up   to  Jerusalem  about  a  fortnight  before  I  ente- 


368  MEDITATIONS, 

cost.  At  Jerusalem  our  Lord  appeared  to  them  at 
least  once  more  before  his  ascension, —  where,  in  what 
house  is  uncertain.  It  was  then  that  he  ordered  them 
to  wait  at  Jerusalem  "  for  the  promise  of  the  Father," 
i.  e.  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  for  they 
were  not  many  days  hence  to  be  merged,  as  it  were, 
in  the  powers  and  the  light  of  heaven,  just  as  John  the 
Baptist  had  merged,  or  immersed  many  in  Jordan, 
baptizing  them  unto  repentance. 

On  the  fortieth  day  after  his  resurrection,  they  met 
again  in  some  private  dwelling  at  Jerusalem,  evidently 
by  a  special  appointment  of  their  Lord.  Then,  when 
they  were  all  together,  he  appeared,  and  for  the  last 
time.  They  knew  it  to  be  the  parting  meeting,  and 
what  question  could  lie  nearer  to  their  hearts  at  that 
moment  than  the  one  they  once  more  propounded  to 
him,  "  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the 
kingdom  of  Israel.^"  Is  it  this  that  you  wish  us  to 
wait  for  at  Jerusalem?  is  not  the  restoration  of  Israel's 
kingdom  the  promise  of  the  Father,  or  is  it  not  at  least 
included  in  it?  The  expression  "at  this  time"  was 
going  rather  too  far,  though  their  anxiety  for  the 
coming  of  his  kingdom  was  perfectly  proper,  and  every 
true  Christian  in  every  age  shares  in  it.  His  answer 
therefore  merely  is.  It  is  not  proper  for  you  to  inquire 
into  times  unrevealed;  your  privilege  is  to  receive  the 
Holy  Spirit,  your  duty  to  proclaim  the  truth,  and  to 
build  up  that  kingdom  whose  coming  you  so  much 
wish,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  King  of  glory. 
In  proper  time  he  will  come  and  will  not  tarry.  He 
then  *'  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany."  It  was  again 
early  in  the  morning,   it  appears,  for  we   do  not  read, 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    OUR    LORD.  369 

nor  do  we  have  the  least  intimation  that  the  little 
company  was  molested  or  even  noticed  by  anybody. 
"And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany,  and  he  lifted 
up  his  hands  and  blessed  them.  And  it  came  to  pass 
while  he  blessed  them,  he  was  parted  from  them.'* 
(Mark.)  And  **  while  they  beheld,  he  was  taken  up, 
and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  And 
while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven  as  he 
went  up,  behold  two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  ap- 
parel, which  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand 
ye  gazing  up  into  heaven.'*  This  same  Jesus  which  is 
taken  up  from  you  into  heaven  shall  so  come  in  like 
manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  Acts  i. 
9  —  11.  "And  they  worshipped  him  and  returned 
with  great  joy  unto  Jerusalem  from  the  mount  called 
Olivet,  which  is  from  Jerusalem  a  Sabbath  day's  jour- 
ney."    Luke  xxiv.  52,  and  Acts  i.  12. 

Here  finishes  the  account  of  our  Lord's  days  on 
earth.  My  theme  has  at  the  same  time  reached  its 
close. 

Nothing  could,  in  my  view,  be  more  profitable  now, 
than  to  trace  back  the  whole  course  of  our  meditations 
and  to  get  a  synoptical  view  of  the  subject  upon  which 
we  have  dwelt  so  long.  But  many  of  my  hearers 
were  not  present  at  the  beginning,  and  the  interval 
is  too  great  to  promise  any  success  in  such  retrospect. 
Moreover,  as  I  have  often  been  obliged  to  tax  your  pa- 
tience by  protracted  discourses,  it  may  not  be  amiss, 
if  1  limit  myself  at  this  time  to  the  simple  utterance  of 
my  own  feelings  in  view  of  the  solemn  ground  over 
which  I  have  been  permitted  to  pass  successively  in 
the  course  of  these  meditations. 
S2 


570  MEDITATIONS. 

Christ  is  gone  to  heaven,  whence,  on  the  strength 
of  his  own  testimony,  he  came.  This  fact  is  estab- 
lished on  the  evidence  of  eye-witness  testimony,  better 
than  most  of  the  thousand  events  in  general  history, 
which  everybody  believes,  and  which  it  would  be  ridic- 
ulous to  reject.  But  besides  all  this,  it  is  established 
by  the  evidence  of  prediction,  i.  e.  Christ  predicted 
this  event  in  connection  with  other  events  of  his  life, 
and  the  others,  some  equally  improbable  and  impene- 
trable according  to  human  foresight,  have  demonstra- 
bly come  to  pass;  and,  therefore,  if  unsuspicious  wit- 
nesses state  that  they  saw  him  ascend,  they  ought  so 
much  the  rather  to  receive  credence.  Yea,  more;  the 
event  or  fact  in  question  is  predicted  together  with 
other  changes  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  in  books  not  only 
demonstrably,  but  necessarily,  much  older  than  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  books  the  un- 
touched, untarnished  purity  of  whose  text  is  acknowl- 
edged even  by  those  who  reject  their  inspiration. 
How  these  men  account  for  predictions  contained  in 
them,  and  which  the  ablest  advocates  of  their  cause 
never  have  removed  nor  explained  fairly  on  their  infi- 
del principles,  is  none  of  my  business;  they  may  see 
to  that;  and  their  desire  to  throw  down  inspiration, 
the  golden  ladder  that  unites  earth  and  heaven,  gives 
me  so  little  disturbance  or  concern,  that  I  give  them 
no  thanks  for  sitting  still.  Would  I  was  rich  enough 
to  give  these  poor  men  wages  for  their  hard,  ungrate- 
ful work;  for  Satan,  poorer  still  than  they,  can  give 
them  none,  and  truth  can  only  gain  by  their  efforts, 
and  conquer,  but  not  perish. 

Christ  is  gone  to  heaven,  and   sits  at  the  right  hand 


THE    ASCEXSION    OF    OUR    LORD.  371 

of  the  Majesty  on  High.  This  is  a  fact  iike  thousands 
of  other  facts  in  history,  only  more  firmly  established 
than  the  rest.  But  besides  its  unyielding  evidences, 
it  is  a  fact  eminently  practical  to  every  individual  in 
this  world,  or  in  this  room.  It  is  not  one  of  those  in- 
different stories  which  you  may  believe  or  deny  with- 
out any  consequences  to  yourselves.  No.  There  is  a 
heaven-wide  difference  between  this  and  common  facts 
and  occurrences,  though  these  may  attract  the  attention 
of  all  the  world,  while  that  lies  neglected  till  the  judg- 
ment-day. 

Dividing  my  hearers,  as  I  always  do,  into  convert- 
ed and  unconverted  ones,  I  shall  endeavor  to  allude 
briefly  to  their  respective  relations  to  the  exalted  Sav- 
ior of  sinners,  to  the  future  Judge  of  all  flesh.  And  it 
will  be  quite  worth  your  while  for  a  few  minutes  to  at- 
tend to  a  subject  to  which  the  hour  of  death  and  the 
judgment-day  will  impart  an  importance  weightier  and 
vaster  than  the  ocean,  and  in  which  all  the  frail  fabrics 
of  your  earthly  concerns  shall  be  shipwrecked  and 
forever  perish. 

There  is  an  awful  moment  in  the  history  of  Israel 
which  urges  itself  upon  our  attention  at  this  time. 
While  Israel  dwelt  in  the  wilderness,  Korah,  Dathan 
and  Abiram  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  princes  among 
the  nation  rebelled  against  Moses  and  Aaron.  "Ye 
take  too  much  upon  you,"  they  said,  "  seeing  all  the 
congregation  are  holy,  every  one  of  them,  and  the 
Lord  is  among  them;  wherefore  then  lift  ye  up  your- 
selves above  the  congregation  of  the  Lord?"  In  vain 
did  Moses  remind  them  of  their  distinguishing  privi- 
leges in  the  community;    in   vain  did  be   call  them  for 


372  MEDITATIONS. 

brotherly  consultation.  They  refused  to  come,  and 
abused  and  grieved  him  with  charges  equally  unjust 
and  bold.  Moses,  conscious  of  his  innocence  and  his 
higher  mission,  was  grieved,  and  said  to  the  Lord,  "Re- 
spect not  thou  their  offering,  for  I  have  not  taken  one 
ass  from  them,  neither  have  I  hurt  any  one  of  them." 
Then  laying  aside  willingly  his  authority  as  the  law- 
giver of  the  nation,  he  descended  to  become  a  simple 
defendant,  and  said  to  Korah,  *'  To-morrow  the  Lord 
will  show  who  are  his  and  who  are  holy;  and  will 
cause  him  to  come  near  unto  him  (to  be  priest;)  even 
him  whom  he  hath  chosen  will  he  cause  to  come  near 
unto  him."  "  Be  thou  and  all  thy  company  before 
the  Lord,  thou  and  they,  and  Aaron,  to-morrow.  And 
take  every  man  his  censer,  and  put  incense  in  them, 
and  bring  ye  before  the  Lord  every  man  his  censer, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  censers;  thou  also  and  Aaron j 
each  of  you  his  censer."  This  done,  the  glory  of  Je- 
hovah appeared  in  the  tabernacle  unto  all  the  people; 
•*  and  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  saying, 
Separate  yourselves  from  among  this  congregationj 
that  I  may  consume  them  in  a  moment."  But  they 
fell  upon  their  faces  and  prayed  for  Israel,  and  their 
humble  plea  prevailed;  for  prayer  is  mighty  with  God. 
And  the  Lord  spake  again  to  them,  and  said,  "  Speak 
unto  the  congregation,  saying,  "Get  up  from  about 
the  tabernacle  of  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram."  The 
separation  was  readily  made,  tents  round  about  the 
rebels  were  broken  up,  property  and  families  removedj 
and  a  wide  chasm  appeared  round  about.  Korah,  Da- 
than and  Abiram,  proud  and  hardened  as  every  infidel 
is  against  God,  stood  at  the  doors  of  their  tents  with 


THE    A^CRNS10X    OP    OUR    LORD.  373 

their  families.  "  And  Moses  said,  hereby  ye  shall 
know  that  the  Lotd  hath  sent  me  to  do  all  these  works, 
for  I  have  not  done  them  of  my  own  mind.  If  these 
men  die  the  common  deatii  of  all  men,  or  if  they  be 
visited  after  the  visitation  of  all  men,  then  the  Lord 
hath  not  sent  me.  But  if  the  Lord  make  a  new  thing, 
and  if  the  earth  open  her  mouth  and  swallow  them  up 
with  all  that  appertain  unto  them,  and  they  go  down 
quick  into  the  pit;  then  ye  shall  understand  that  these 
men  have  provoked  the  Lord."  Nothing  could  have 
surpassed  the  solemnity  of  such  an  appeal  directly  to 
God,  —  an  appeal  which,  whatsoever  was  to  be  the 
event,  was  necessarily  big  with  important  and  irre- 
trievable consequences.  Mo.ses,  the  man  of  God,  the 
mediator  between  Jehovah  and  Israel  and  their  sa- 
viour from  reproach  and  bondage  and  idolatry — the 
man  who  was  in  all  his  offices  a  type  of  Christ,  —  he 
had  given  for  years  the  most  unquestionable  proof  of 
his  higher  mission,  and  every  candid  Israelite  was 
convinced  and  clave  to  him.  But  Korah,  Dathan  and 
Abiram  and  their  company,  whose  hearts  were  wrong 
and  full  of  ambition,  resisted  successfully  the  evidence 
of  Moses's  mission.  It  was  absolutely  impossible  to 
give  them  more  and  better  proofs  than  they  already 
had  resisted  and  rejected,  and  what  could  Moses  do 
more  or  less  rather  than  to  appeal  to  God  himself,  and 
commit  the  decision  to  him  in  the  sight  of  all  Israel. 
The  appeal  is  made;  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram  are 
standing  in  their  doors,  unmoved,  and  all  the  people 
at  a  distance  look  on  with  awful  interest.  A  few  mo- 
ments of  interval,  a  sullen,  breathless  silence,  such  as 
precedes  the  dreaded  shock  of  the  earthquake,  when 
32* 


374  MEDITATIONS. 

no  wind  dares  to  breathe  and  creatures  stand,  in 
breathless  expectation,  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram's 
fates  are  pending,  and  the  last  seconds  of  repentance 
rolling  by,  —  the  last  one  conies,  arrives,  passes  un- 
redeemed —  a  shock,  a  shriek  of  terror,  and  they  are 
gone,  and  Israel  flees  aflrighted  from  the  smoking  pit, 
saying,  "Lest  the  earth  swallow  us  up  also.  And 
there  came  out  a  fire  from  the  Lord  and  consumed  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  that  offered  incense." 

But  if  "he  that  despised  Moses's  law  died  without 
mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses,  of  how  much 
sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall  he  be  worthy  who 
hath  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  hath 
counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  wherewith  he  was 
sanctified  an  unholy  thing,  and  hath  done  despite  unto 
the  Spirit  of  grace?" 

In  the  fullness  of  time  Christ  came  in  the  flesh  ac- 
cording to  numerous  and  unquestionable  predictions. 
God  bore  testimony  to  his  divine  mission  by  the  true 
word  of  prophecy  and  audibly  in  the  hearing  of  friends 
and  foes;  and  he  himself,  whom  his  adversaries  could 
not  and  cannot  accuse  of  one  sin,  bore  witness  of 
himself  and  sealed  his  conviction  with  his  own  blood; 
and  his  numerous  friends,  men  of  sound  mind  and  up- 
right character,  gave  him  record  to  their  own  temporal 
harm,  and  persevered  in  their  testimony  unto  death  ; 
and  his  still  more  numerous  enemies  sealed  the  whole 
mass  of  evidence  by  their  infernal  conduct,  which 
showed  on  what  side  they  were,  and  by  their  ridiculous 
and  contradictory  lies,  than  which  they  had  nothing 
b(  tter  to  defend  their  perishing  cause  withal.  Christ 
rose  from  the  dead  and  took  his  place  on  the  throne  of 


THE    ASCENSION    OP    OUR    LORD.  375 

the  universe.  The  word  of  God  has  been  attacked  by 
every  weapon  of  learning,  wit,  and  fraud  ;  and  the 
church  of  Christ,  by  civil  power  and  brute  force  often, 
and  always  by  the  haughty  contempt  of  those  who  pro- 
fessedly never  experienced  anything  of  her  heavenly 
peace  and  joy.  But  both  stand  unmoved.  Stand  ? 
No.  They  extend,  they  spread,  they  pierce  unknown 
regions  ;  they  enlighten  and  redeem  men's  souls,  in 
spite  of  the  world,  and  Satan  and  all  his  host  ; 
and  they  are  living  witnesses  that  Christ  liveth  and 
reigneth. 

Here  let  the  sceptic  say  whether  more  evidence  than 
this  could,  according  to  the  laws  of  mind,  have  been 
given.  But  yet,  he  believes  not.  Why  not?  Because 
he  will  not  believe.  He  is  like  Korah,  Dathan  and  Abi- 
ram  standing  coldly,  and  smiling  in  the  door  of  his  tent. 
Not  Moses,  but  Christ  has  made  the  last  deciding  ap- 
peal, and  that  to  the  judgment-day.  The  sceptic  wants 
more  evidence  —  more  evidence.  The  authentic  his- 
tory of  the  life,  the  death,  the  resurrection,  and  the 
ascension  of  Christ  are  nothing  unto  him  ;  the  unac- 
countable existence  and  continuance  of  his  truth  is 
nothing.  But  Christ  will  sit  unmoved  on  his  throne, 
till  the  great  day  of  reckoning  draws  nigh.  The  scep- 
tic will  have  no  more  evidence  nor  proof  till  the  sign 
of  the  Son  of  Man  appear  in  heaven,  and  all  the  tribes 
of  the  earth  mourn  and  weep.  "An  evil  and  adulter- 
ous generation  seeketh  after  a  sign,  and  there  shall  no 
sign  be  given  unto  it  but  the  sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas. 
For  as  Jonas  was  three  days  and  three  nights  in  the 
whale's  belly,  so  shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  three  days 
and  three  nights  in  the  heart  of  the  earth.     The  men 


576  MEDITATIONS. 

of  Nineveh  shall  rise  up  in  judgment  with  this  genera- 
tion  and   shall   condemn   it,   because  they  repented  at 
the  preaching  of  Jonas, — and  behold,  a  greater  than 
Jonas  is  here.    The  queen  of  the  south  shall  rise  up  in 
the  judgment  with  this  generation,  and  shall  condemn 
it;   for  she  came  from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth 
to  hear  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  — and  behold,  a  great- 
er than  Solomon  is  here."    Korah,  Dathan  and  Abiram 
shall  rise  up   in  judgment  with  the  generation  of  our 
sceptics   and   worldlings,    and   condemn   it  ;     because 
they  resisted  only  the  mission  of  Moses,  — and  behold, 
a  greater   than  Moses   is   here  !     During  the  few  sec- 
onds of  their  fleeting  lives,  their  case  is  pending,  and 
the  acts  of  heaven  are  kept  open.     There  is  silence  in 
heaven  for  every  sinner,  by  the  space  of  half  an  hour, 
and   the    sun   lingers  and  lingers  on  the  horizon.     But 
there  is  a  time  when  saving   mercy   retires   weeping, 
and  when  justice  recovers  its  claims;   when  God  arises 
and  swears,  in  his  wrath,  that  they  shall  not  enter  into 
his  rest  ;   and  then  the  ground  cleaves,  and  they  per- 
ish without  remedy.     Death  and  the  grave  come,  and 
they   descend   quickly   into  the  pit,  and  come  no  more 
till  the  trumpet  of  the  resurrection  pierce  their  graves. 
But  then  —  then   they  will   appear,  though  they  hide 
themselves  in  the  centre  of  the  earth.     O  what  a  sight 
will  it  then  be,  to  the  muhitudes  of  unbelieving  kings, 
statesmen,  philosophers,  and  scholars,  rich  and  mighty 
men,  standing  speechless,  confounded  and  condemned 
before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  whom  they  used  to 
considoT  a  phantom,  and  infinitely  below  them.    Then, 
too,   they  will   no   more   say  to  us,  as  they  do  now,  — 
*'Ye  take   too   much   upon  you,   ye  preachers  of  the 


THE    ASCENSION    OF    OUR    LORD.  377 

gospel,  to  condemn  so  many  honorable,  well-bred  peo- 
ple; seeing  all  the  congregation  are  holy,  and  the  Lord 
is  among  them  :  wherefore,  then,  lift  ye  up  yourselves 
above  the  congregation  of  the  Lord  —  and  think  your- 
selves justified  in  preaching  needless  terror  ?"  This 
they  say  now  ;  but  we  have  the  consolation  not  to 
have  taken  anything  from  them,  nor  to  have  hurt  one 
of  them.  But  then  they  will  see  that  we  are  the  men 
who,  at  the  expense  of  their  own  comfort  and  popu- 
larity, threw  themselves  between  them  and  ruin.  Too 
late  they  will  acknowledge  that  the  faithful,  home- 
spoken  sermon  was  a  token  of  regard  and  affection 
worth  all  the  idle  phraseologies  of  a  deceitful  world. 

This,  then,  is  your  situation, —  mark  it  well.  Christ 
sits  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  The  mass  of  the  evi- 
dence of  his  divine  mission  and  the  terms  of  salvation 
and  the  comminations  of  perdition  encompass  you  as 
the  ambient  air  which  you  cannot  escape  :  you  are 
standing  there  in  the  door  of  your  tabernacle,  and  not 
Israel  ;  but  heaven  looks  on  your  daring  with  amaze- 
ment and  sorrow.  Your  case  is  awfully  pending  ;  the 
moments  of  mercy  are  gliding  away,  and  the  day,  the 
moment  of  decision  draws  nigh  and  will  soon  be  pres- 
ent, and  soon  past,  to  be  recalled  no  more.  O  that 
you  were  wise  to  consider  your  latter  end  and  make 
the  Judge  your  friend. 

But  this  situation  need  not  be  yours.  Come  over 
to  the  people  of  God.  Kiss  the  Son  before  he  be 
angry,  and  ye  shall  not  perish  in  the  way.  Come  out 
of  Egypt  and  settle  in  some  corner  of  Goshen,  and 
your  change  will  be  as  it  were  from  midnight  into 
noon.     For   there,   where  the  people   of  God   dwell, 


378  MEDITATIONS. 

there  subsists  a  relation  to  the  exalted  Saviour  which 
could  not  be  more  delightful. 

Though  ascended  up  to  heaven,  he  is  with  them  al- 
way,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  What  I  now 
say,  is  neither  delusion  nor  poetry  ;  but  reality,  more 
sober,  more  real  than  this  visible  world  ;  for  it  has  the 
evidenoe,  not  of  material,  but,  of  spiritual  experience. 
The  glorified  Saviour  is  with  his  people.  He  dwells 
in  their  dwellings,  as  at  Bethany  ;  he  meets  them  in 
the  closet;  he  guides  their  family  devotion;  he  blesses 
and  breaks  their  bread  at  table  ;  he  prospers  them  in 
their  work  ;  and  blesses  them  as  they  go  out  and  as 
they  come  in.  In  prosperity  he  tunes  their  hearts  and 
voices  for  the  sacred  song  of  praise  ;  and  in  affliction 
gives  them  the  spirit  of  prayer  and  the  hope  of  heaven. 
He  is  husband  to  the  widow,  father  to  the  fatherless, 
the  all-sufficient  companion  of  the  solitary,  a  physician 
to  the  sick,  a  guide  to  the  pilgrim.  He  is  the  spiritual 
rock  from  which  they  drink  and  live  forever;  the  man- 
na that  came  down  from  heaven  ;  his  people  eat,  and 
the  second  death  has  lost  its  power.  Kverywhere  and 
always  his  particular  providence  is  over  them,  in  the 
shady  cloud  by  day  and  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  till 
they  are  in  the  promised  land.  He  is  their  high-priest, 
and  their  names  are  written  upon  his  breast;  and  from 
his  countenance  beams  the  unfadincj  Urim  and  Thuin- 
min  by  which  they  steer  their  course  to  heaven.  They 
are  not  set  adrift,  like  the  world,  and  at  the  mercy  of 
every  wind,  and  drawing  near  to  the  all-devouring 
maelstrom  of  the  pit  ;  but  their  coiirse  is  to  the  port  of 
endless  rest,  and  Christ  is  at  the  helm.  Until  he  per- 
ish,  thev   are  safe.     Taught   by  Christ,  who  is  their 


THE    ASCENSION    OP    OUR    LORD.  379 

teacher,  their  views  of  earth  and  heaven,  of  social, 
political,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  subjects  are 
spiritualized,  refined,  and  sanctified  ;  and  their  better 
existence  in  union  with  Christ  has  begun.  Their  sor- 
rows are  sweet  and  their  joys  profitable  ;  all  is  sea- 
soned with  heavenly  spices  and  the  hope  of  eternal 
life;  the  dawninor  of  this  eternal  morninor  borders  the 
interesting  landscape  of  their  pilgrimage,  and  the  end 
of  their  faith  is  the  grand  promise  to  inherit  all  things, 
and  to  reiijn  with  Christ  forever. 

Shout,  little  flock,  with  the  voice  of  triumph  !  Fear 
not  !  Thy  God  reigneth.  Lift  up  your  heads,  for 
your  redemption  draweth  nigh.  Weep  not  too  much 
that  your  beloved  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men.  He 
is  above  the  sneers  of  worms  ;  and  his  omnipotent 
voice  will  ere  long  hush  into  eternal  silence  the  evil 
and  the  wisdom  of  this  world.  "  Yet  a  little  while  and 
he  that  shall  come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry."  "As 
the  lightning  cometh  out  of  the  east,  and  shineth  even 
unto  the  west,  so  shall  (also)  the  coming  of  theS^m  of 
Man  he."  He  will  come  in  the  glory  of  his  Father  ; 
his  train  shall  fill  the  heavens  ;  and  the  earth  shall  be 
full  of  his  praise.  Judgment  will  be  held,  —  his  eter- 
nal kingdom  will  commence  in  the  sight  of  all  the  uni- 
verse ;  your  desire  and  longing  for  his  honor  will  be 
satisfied  perfectly  ;  and  not  a  mind,  in  heaven,  earth, 
or  hell,  shall  doubt  that  Jesus  reigns.  In  the  all-re- 
vealing light  of  the  judgment-day,  every  knee  will  bow 
to  him  and  every  tongue  confess  him  Lord,  whether  it 
be  willingly  or  unwillingly,  whether  with  the  shout  of 
sacred  joy  and  praise,  or  with  the  gnashing  of  fruitless 
despair.       Grand,    grand    beyond   human   and   angelic 


380  MEDITi.TIONS. 

conception,  will  be  the  scene,  when  the  proclamation 
of  his  eternal  royalty  shall  make  the  arch  of  heaven 
ring,  then  resound  to  earth,  and  roll  through  the  cav- 
erns of  the  world  of  wo.  At  the  judgment-day,  which 
is  drawing  nigh  apace,  all  will  and  must  acknowledge 
him  ;  and  at  the  great  moment  of  eternal  parting,  the 
unnumbered  multitudes  of  the  redeemed  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Judge,  and  the  lost,  condemned  rebels  on 
his  left,  more  numerous  than  the  sands  on  the  sea- 
shore, will  join  in  one  thundering  chorus,  sayinj^r^  Jesus 
reigneth  !  —  almighty  to  save,  or  to  ruin  !  His  name 
endureth  forever  !  —  and  all  the  universe  will  answer, 
amen ! 


DATE  DUE 


HIGHSMITH       #45220 


BS2425.S31  ^         ^^^.^ 

Meditations  on  the  last  days  of  Christ, 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00013  3043 


